


What I'll Do About It

by Tired_Whats_New



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Lukanette, Saltfic, Slow Burn, for fun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2020-12-24 16:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21102581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tired_Whats_New/pseuds/Tired_Whats_New
Summary: Marinette is, quite frankly, tired. She sick of Lila's lies and her classmates believing them, she's fed up with being looked down on, and she's very much over being sad all the time. So, what does she do about it? Marinette strives to be better for herself.





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette was having a hard time. “Actually”, she thought, “when’s the last time I wasn’t?” Perhaps that’s why she found herself, detransformed, at the top of the Eiffel Tower at four in the morning. The sky was still dark, but the horizon held a glimmer of tomorrow at the edge of the world. She stared at it, the subtle line of the sun barely reflecting in her blue eyes, the night sky emphasizing the dark rings under her eyes. Marinette was balancing delicately, one hand gripping the pole at the very top as her body leaned as far as it could to the side. She swung around the pole, once, twice, three times. With each turn she wished she could feel alive again, and on the third turn around, she let go of the pole and looked once again at the horizon. “Feel alive, the promise of tomorrow,” she whispered to the dark. With a deep breath, Marinette jumped.

She was diving off the top, a spectacular fall as she closed her eyes, the wind rushing through her hair. The adrenaline pounded through her system and as she opened her eyes again, a wide grinned formed. She spread her limbs far out and made fists of victory and yelled out with glee. A red flurry came in front of her face and smiled at her, “Ready?”

Her grin only widened, and Marinette bellowed to be heard over the rushing of wind, “Tikki, spots on!” The transformation took place in a flash of dazzling red light and when it faded, there was Ladybug. Grabbing her beloved yo-yo, she tossed it out into the night sky as it was caught, and she swung into the direction it took her. The strain of muscle, the change in gravity, and the powerful feeling of swinging back up into the air as she changed directions, this is what it meant to be Lady Bug! Powerful, graceful, and soaring high above the city as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop. She swung and leapt and twirled through the buildings for what felt like seconds but when she landed for the last time, panting and out of breath, she found herself staring into the sunrise a top her balcony.

The pig tailed hero collapsed into one of her chairs, breathless, “Tikki, spots off.”

Another flash of light and Marinette was herself again, face to face with a small red creature. Tikki fluttered down and landed sitting on top of her wielders knee, “Thanks for last night’s patrol Tikki, it really cleared my head.”

Marinette smiled down fondly and reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out spare cookie and handing it to Tikki, “Of course, I know everything’s felt so difficult lately and if being on patrol helps clear your head, I’ll always support you.” The two sat peacefully, watching the sun rise. The young girl wasn’t as awake as she thought she was, and as she looked at the start of a new day, her eyes kept closing…closing…awake! She jolted, startling a napping Tikki and as they both realized they had snoozed off, they shouted in unison, “School!”

Barreling into the classroom just as the late bell rang, the school day started off as yet another close call. The day, Marinette hoped, would be a good one. It was only a hope though, as everything immediately started off on the wrong foot. Miss Bustier came up to her desk and smiled down at her, “Marinette! Thank goodness you’re here,” the girl in question smiled sheepishly, “Lila was _just _telling me how she had hurt her wrist while saving a baby from a runaway motor bike. As class rep, I would appreciate if you took her notes today to help her out!” Bustier still held her smile, but Marinette’s face only deadpanned.

Alya, who sat next to her as usual raised her hand to her mouth in awe, “No way! Wow, Lila! You sure saved the day!” The classes attention immediately went to Lila, who still stood at the teachers’ desk holding her wrist to her chest pitifully. Everyone cooed their admiration as Lila basked in the glory of what was clearly a lie. A lie Marinette would not soon fall for.

“Oh, is that so?” her lips pressed into a thin line as she quickly assessed the state Lila was in, “I still don’t see why I have to write her notes.”

The class groaned slightly, Alya shooting a nasty look in her best friends’ direction. Why couldn’t Marinette just _help _Lila? Why couldn’t she just be kind like always? Miss Bustier’s smile faltered, and then grew hard. “_Marinette, _as the class representative you should be _glad _to help one of your friends!”

“Yeah, Marinette, what’s your problem so early?” Alya questioned in frustration, arms folded as she glowered at her best friend.

Marinette crumbled slightly under the scrutiny of her class, looking down to her hands that rested in her lap. “It’s not like she’s telling the truth, anyways.”

From the back, Alix rolled her eyes, “Not this _again_!” The class mumbled in similar fashion.

Bustier crossed her arms, disappointed in her student, “Miss Dupain-Cheng! That is no such way to speak to-”

Marinette pointed accusingly toward the girl in front, whose face had momentarily lost its façade of the wounded heroine and had turned into the smug look of someone enjoying the scene playing out in front of her. Of course, this only lasted long enough for only Marinette to see as she exclaimed out, “Why isn’t she in the nurse’s office then? If her wrist is hurt _that _bad, what’s she here for?”

Lila sighed, a teary look crossing her face that had just enough subtlety to be convincing to the untrained eye, “I just didn’t want to miss my _favorite _teachers’ class, you know? Surely, you love her lectures as much as I do?” She looked up through her eyelashes at Marinette with a pout.

Clearly, the flattery was getting to Miss Bustier as she raised her hand to her heart and smiled fondly at the little Italian girl. She looked back to the black-haired girl, “See, Miss Dupain-Cheng? Can’t you help someone so passionate about learning?”

Marinette could practically scream, but she placed her hand over her bag where she felt Tikki nuzzle the fabric from the inside, calming her down. That is, in till Alya placed her hand on her shoulder, “Come on, girl. Just take her notes!”

Marinette pursed her lips and tilted her head at her best friend, raising an eyebrow, “If you think she needs help so much, why don’t _you _write her notes? Obviously, this is _so _important to you.”

Alya was flustered, slightly taken back, but regained her composure. She crossed her arms and gave Marinette a smart look, “Fine! I will!” Marinette just flashed a fake smile as she raised her brows, rolling her eyes as she looked away from Alya, who just signed up to take notes for someone who wasn’t even injured.

Miss Bustier smiled at Alya, “Oh, Alya, how sweet of you!” Marinette thought that would be the end of that, but as her teacher went to go back to her desk, she added, “I am _very _disappointed Marinette.” The pig tailed girl subtly lifted her hands in exasperation. This was her new every day. School had been taking on the role as one of her major stressors. With the ever-strong flow of new projects and homework tag teaming with Lila and her stupid lies, Marinette was seconds away from ripping her hair out and screaming louder than any human ever had.

Lila had been doing a great job of making up story after story in an attempt to make Marinette crack, with the by-product of everyone beginning to dislike Marinette. She wouldn’t call it full on hating or bullying, but people were clearly starting to show a disdain and awkwardness around her that wasn’t there before. Now if she asked to hang out with any of them, there’s be a forced chuckles and darting eyes in till they came up with a proper excuse as to why they couldn’t. Even Alya and Nino seemed to be pulling away, finding reasons to cut their hang out times short.

And, you know what, _they _weren’t good at lying either. “_I guess Lila and them can have _that _in common…” _she thought idly as she scribbled doodles into the margins of her notebook. Sure, at first Marinette used to smile with genuine understanding when they said they had to go to the doctor or visit their grandma or whatever it is they’d say. But after being left by her friends more than enough times only to find them hanging in groups with Lila in the center, she decided she should just…not bother. She pulled her pigtail sadly.

School was quick that day. At lunch, she decided to eat at home instead of making Alya choose between eating with her or eating at the table where Lila sat alone…with everyone else in the class. So sad. At break, Lila had fallen in front of where Marinette had been leaving the classroom and cried about how she had been tripped and since-_of course- _Marinette was the only one there it had to have been her! This cost her the rest of break, a lecture from the principle and dirty looks from the class. Not to mention there had been a science test that totally caught her off guard and she knew should couldn’t have gotten anything above a C. School was quick that day, a quick kick in the ass. She was strained, and she was tired. And as the last bell rang, she asked Alya, “Do you wanna come over for some snacks?” watching Alya fumble with a forced smile only made her mood worsen.

“Girl, I’d love to but…”

“She’s coming with me today!” Lila had come out of nowhere, grabbing Alya’s arm and grinning with a tint of hate only meant for Marinette. “I’ve just been so busy with running all my charity events from across the world and with all these celebrity parties that I just haven’t been able to study like I want!”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

Alya shot her a glare as Lila continued, “And with my strained wrist…I just can’t do my homework today! So Alya offered to type it up.” As she said the, she laced her arms to give the red head a side hug, a wide smile on her face. But her eyes held one message.

What are you going to do about it?

Marinette sucked in air sharply through her teeth, trying to think of something to say back. But when she glanced over at her best friend, her resolve crumbled. Alya wasn’t looking at her, avoiding meeting her eyes. Guilty? Marinette closed her eyes and let out a sigh, “So, you’re just having Alya come over…to do your homework?”

“Oh! I didn’t ask her to, she offered! Her handwriting was so nice when she took my notes that I couldn’t stop complimenting it and she asked,” Lila chirped.

Alya stole a glance at Marinette, “Yeah, you know, the notes _you _made me write?”

Marinette could not believe it. She crossed her arms and quirked her head at her best friend, “Oh? Is that so?” Alya sniffed and rolled her eyes, and Marinette grabbed her bag to walk away, “Alright. But Lila, what happened to that voice to text app you invented for people who couldn’t write? Sure seems it would’ve been helpful...”

Alya’s head snapped to look at Marinette with wide eyes, clearly angered. Lila laughed nervously; How could she have forgotten? She spent all of Monday last week talking about how she oh so graciously created a program that let a person speak aloud as a computer typed out what was said. Marinette smiled curtly before brushing past them, leaving the room as Lila yelled to her back, “F-funny you should mention that! Some, uhm, some hackers had gotten ahold of it and deleted it! So, now it’s gone!”

It didn’t matter; Marinette knew it was all lies anyways. Alya, on the other hand, patted Lila’s shoulder with sympathy, coddling the teary-eyed liar, reassuring her that she’d still help her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chance encounter with Luka might reveal the key to what Marinette needs.

When Marinette finally got to her room, she belly-flopped onto her bed. Burying her face into one of her many pillows, she screamed as loud as she could, kicking her feet into the air with a fury. How in the _world _could Alya have said that? She couldn’t have been serious! Was Marinette crazy, or wasn’t Miss Bustier gonna make _her _do the notes? Without asking? If Alya understood the frustration of doing someone else’s work, then _why _was it ok when Marinette was the one doing it? She rolled over, panting angrily, “How’s that fair?”

Tikki flew out of her hiding spot in Marinette’s bag and hovered in front of her wielders face. “It’s not fair, I know. But you know you can’t just be rude because of it!”

Marinette sighed and rolled over, curling up into a ball, “I wasn’t being rude…I was standing up for myself.” Tikki was quiet for a moment. “Tikki, you know I don’t want to be mean to my friends but…do you know how hard it is? Why do _I _have to put up with being a target, why do _I _have to be the one who does everything without complaining?”

“I…you’re right, Marinette. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t tell Ladybug to just sit aside when things aren’t right,” Tikki sat in Marinette’s open hand.

The pigtailed girl chuckled and brought her kwami close to her face and nuzzled her against her cheek, “Yeah, can’t exactly be a symbol of justice if I can’t even defend myself.”

They lazed around in the bed a little longer in silence, soaking in the peace. In till it was interrupted by Marinette’s stomach growling. Tikki giggled at the embarrassed faced her hero made, “Someone sounds hungry!”

Sitting up, Marinette reached for her phone, “Yeah, I am! And I’m sure eating will-” she stopped cold. Her phone had been left on a social media app, and when she opened it, up popped a picture of Adrien and Kagami together. Kagami had posted hearts as the caption. Closing her blue eyes, she steeled her stomach to deal with the onslaught of negative feeling. Of jealousy, of a broken heart, frustration in herself for feeling bad about it at all. She knew Adrien was never hers, she had no place to feel so angry. Besides, Kagami…was good for him. Kagami was strong, smart, and coordinated. She wasn’t afraid to put herself out there. Plus, she had become kinder to Marinette ever since Love Eater, so she really couldn’t hate her. She really couldn’t.

Tikki looked over Marinette’s shoulder at the screen and felt her heart sink. The kwami knew her wielder was doing her best to get over the blond boy pictured, but it was proven difficult. The feelings had grown over such a long time, and to never truly have closure was making it harder. With all the ‘what if’ fantasies and daydreams that Marinette just couldn’t help, pushing her feelings down caused lots of crying. So, when Marinette looked at her with a small, tired smile, Tikki was surprised when she said, “You want to go for a walk? I think a walk will make me feel better.”

She had walked down her steps slowly, unfocused on her surroundings. Thoughts of the day ran through her head, she fumbled to think of someone she still felt like she could talk to. But she couldn’t name one that hadn’t ditched her in one way or another. She couldn’t name any one she felt comfortable talking to. She meekly told her parents she was going on a walk when she passed them as they worked and walked out of the bakery. The sun was hidden behind clouds and it was a little chilly; she didn’t feel like going back for a coat. She walked down the street without a goal.

Marinette wanted to forget her feelings about Adrien. She wanted to forget about Lila. As she turned the corner, considering going on a mid-day run as Ladybug, she heard a yell, “Watch out!”

She had just enough time to look up at something coming at her at high speed and give a yelp, leaping out of the way. Whatever it was, it barely missed her, and as she breathed heavy from the shock, she could hear the screech of bicycle breaks. She whirled around furiously, “Hey, what’s the big idea?!” she yelled, shaking her fist.

The bicyclist turned around, taking off their helmet. To Marinette’s great shock, it had been Luka, looking at her with worry and guilt, “Marinette, I’m so sorry! I really didn’t know you were going to round the corner! I shouldn’t have been going so fast anyways…Are you okay?”

To say the least, she was not okay. Her day had been crappy, and she had almost been hit by a bike, even though she’d already forgiven Luka, it had clearly been an accident he was sorry for. But Luka didn’t miss the sag in her shoulders and the weary smile she wore when she replied, “Yeah, I’m okay. You just scared me.” The giggle, he found to be hollow.

He got off his bike, walking it over to her, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but…are you really? You look,” he paused, seeing as she grimaced and avoided eye contact slightly. Maybe this wasn’t the right approach, he thought. She wasn’t the one to say how she felt right away, especially after almost being run over. “Are you busy?” he changed his direction.

Marinette looked back at him cautiously, was he going to ask her to do something for him, like how others had? But it was Luka, so she said, “Uhm, no. I’m not. Did you need…something?”

He smiled at her and reached behind him to grab something from off his bike. When he faced her again, he spoke, “My boss gave me this pizza to take back to my family. But, you know, the weathers clearing up and I’d like to spend some time with a friend. Do you wanna eat this with me at the park?”

It had been so long since someone had been the one to ask _her _to hangout that she was caught completely off guard. Her back straightened as her cheeks stained, grinning like a goof. It was hard to explain how much a simple comment made her so happy, “O-oh? Eat park at the- pizza at the park? Oh, uhm! Wow, actually I’d really like that!” or how it had made her stutter.

She cringed at herself, feeling embarrassed. She half expected Luka to retract his offer. But to her relief, he just tilted his head and laughed, “Well, M-m-Marinette, hop on.”

She did.

On the ride to the park, hugging Luka on the back of the bike he peddled, she noticed he hadn’t been lying. The weather really was clearing up; she could see the sun again.

The pepperoni pizza was delicious, even more so shared between friends. The park was sunny and had a light breeze, the grass green and the air clean. They sat across from each other on a picnic bench sheltered under the shade of a tree. They laughed as they ate, telling each other jokes and having a good time. It had been so long since Marinette had felt like she could laugh and speak freely. Before she knew it, Luka was handing her the last slice and she felt a little sad that their time together was ending.

“Are you sure? It was your pizza.”

He leaned his chin into his hand and smiled at her, his eyes soft as they crinkled with relaxation. “Hm, you’re right it was. How bout this, you can have it at the price of a little more time together.” In his other hand, the pizza was still outstretched to her.

Marinette almost choked on her spit and she could feel the heat rise to her face. Slowly, she smiled at him and took the pizza, “What a low cost.”

Luka was very happy to hear that. His heart fluttered lightly as he watched her take a bite, the way her cheeks puffed as she chewed a large mouthful and her eyes reflected a smile… He had to look away to keep a blush from rising to his face. Luka didn’t want to stare and make her uncomfortable. With a shyness, he glanced back and before Marinette could get another bite in, “So, Marinette. You were kind of…down earlier…”

He could’ve kicked himself when he saw just a smidge of her energy leave as the result of his statement. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that, but it just…looked like you really needed someone to talk to.” He held his breath for her response, doing his best to look calm. He didn’t want her to feel pressured to tell him just because he invited her for pizza.

But Marinette didn’t mind. Actually, right after he finished speaking, her heart had skipped a beat. How had he seen right through her? How did he know she needed someone to see through her so badly? She blinked back the moisture forming in her eyes and smiled down at her slice, setting it down back into the box. “Actually, would you mind listening?”

“Listing to you? I’d never mind.” Both their hearts picked up the pace.

Marinette wiped the sweat from her palms onto her jeans, anxiety growing in her chest. Her thoughts became louder and a small headache formed between her eyes. She had spent so long _not _talking about it that she wasn’t sure how to. She decided to talk about what bothered her most, “Have you heard…of someone named Lila?”

Luka leaned back, thinking, “Yeah…yeah I do know. Juleka had brought someone named Lila along with Rose and a few other girls over not too long ago.”

Marinette winced, had Luka already been tangled into her lies? Would he turn his back to her once she said what she would say? Her heart sank a little more as she considered his answer, the girls had gone over to Juleka’s house without her? She bit her tongue. “Well, uhm. What did you…what did you think of her?”

“I have no clue why Juleka is friends with her.”

Surprised, she leaned a little closer, “What? Why?”

Luka rolled his eyes, “Well first of all, she had barged into my room without asking _anyone_. And then she had the nerve to go on and on about how my playing sounded _so _good-”

“Well, it is.”

“Thanks. Anyways! She was telling me how good it was but then she started talking about how she used to play guitar in till her arthritis stopped her. And I was like, yeah that’s believable. But do you know what she said next? She said the guitarist of _Kitty Section _had taught her.”

“No!”

“Yes! I kinda just looked at her like ‘oh yeah?’ and she was like, ‘yup, he’s _so _in love with me yadda yadda. I bet I could get you guys to meet!’”

“Oh my god.”

“I know, but wait I’m not done. I looked at her and I said, ‘oh, could you?’ and she was, like, all proud. And then I asked, ‘did you tell that to the others in your class?’ and she said no. So, I just laughed and told her it was for the best since I had never given her guitar lessons and I definitely wasn’t in love with her and that I was _pretty sure _it be impossible to set a meeting up with myself.”

Marinette laughed so hard she was snorting, “Oh, what I wouldn’t _give _to have seen her stupid face!”

Luka was laughing too, but he tried to contain it, “So, ahem, why do you ask?”

Slowly, the pigtailed girl’s laughter trickled down in till she was quiet, only a small smile on her face as she looked into the distance. “Well, she lies just like that everyday at school. And a lot of the time, she lies to get me in trouble.”

The guitarist had to bite his tongue. “…What do you mean by that?”

“There…well, when she first came back to France, she had switched the whole classes seating chart so that I’d be alone in the back so she could sit in the front. Because she had ‘tinnitus’. And, you know, if that was true and if someone had _asked _me, I would’ve been ok sitting in the back. But her tinnitus was totally bogus! She _said _she got it from like a jet or something when she was saving Jagged Stones _kitten_.”

“Jagged Stone never even had a kitten.”

“I know! But everyone still believed her! Even though it made no sense, I mean, she tried to cover it up by saying he did before he got his crocodile but think about it! Fang is a _huge_ croc, and it takes years for them to get that big. So, for Jagged to have a kitten before him, Lila would’ve needed to rescue it like five to like…fifteen years ago! You know, when she’d be _ten _or _not even born yet._”

Luka crossed his arms. Marinette was right, it definitely didn’t make sense. “Everyone really believed her?” He clicked his tongue when Marinette nodded her head. “So, she’s just a pathological liar.”

Pulling her pigtail sadly, she nodded. “I’ve…I’ve tried to tell people she was lying to them. And they’re really big lies, she’s offering to create opportunities with connections she doesn’t have. She even got Alya to post lies to her Ladyblog! But they…think I’m being jealous.”

Luka sucked in air sharply, “Jealous?”

“Ok, my suspicions with her started because she came on so strongly to Adrien. But when I realized she really was lying for the sake of lies, it became more than that.” For some reason, mentioning Adrien had left a sour taste in her mouth.

Luka wrung his fingers together, only a little bothered by Marinette’s crush on Adrien. It was definitely not his place. So, he urged her to continue. “When I call her out on lying, she spins it to look like I’m bullying her. And people believe that. They really think I’ve become a bully,” she laughed, looking up to blink away the tears forming in her eyes. “Sometimes, I believe them. That maybe I _am_ the bully for trying to get the truth out.”

“You’re not a bully for wanting honesty,” without thinking, he reached across the table to grab her hand and squeeze it comfortingly, “You just don’t want her lies to affect your friends. That’s _not _being a bully.”

Marinette looked down at the hand grabbing hers, her heart aching dully at the act of kindness. “I know that, it’s just hard to believe nowadays. You know…she threatened me in the bathroom.”

“What?” Luka yelled. Marinette jolted, surprised and he was quick to lower his voice, “My bad, uhm…keep talking.”

Pulling her pigtail awkwardly, she continued, “Since I knew she was lying, she told me that if I try and expose her, she’d drag me down before I got the chance. She…she wants to take all my friends away…”

“Marinette, no…”

“And I think she’s succeeding,” she smiled waveringly, a few tears trickling down her cheek, “Now, they don’t even want to talk to me. They never want to hangout, and they only talk to me if they need a favor. Just today, the first time Alya spoke to me was to convince me to take Lila’s notes for her.”

Luka’s anger flared. That wasn’t fair, that wasn’t right. “Marinette…”

But she continued, the tears down her cheek flowing steadier in till she spoke in sobs, “Do you know what the worst part is? I’m not the only one who knows. _Adrien _knows! But his great idea is to just _not _say anything! That’s working out great for him, but not for me! I can’t just _stand aside _like that! That’s not me! That’s not _right_! He _said _we’d be going through it together but _that’s not true._ He’s dating Kagami now, he’s hardly ever at school, and when he is, he just sits around everyone, letting them listen to Lila’s lies. So, I’m _alone _and I don’t know what to do-!”

The teenage boy couldn’t take hearing her voice break anymore, and he practically leaped across the table to embrace the small pigtailed girl. She was trembling as she clutched onto the back of his jacket, quietly sobbing that she didn’t know what to do.

He let her cry into his sweater in till she calmed down. He still held her in till she pulled back slightly to look at him, “Luka…what do I _do_?”

He looked down at her, and what could he say? What could he _really _say that wouldn’t bite her in the future? He could tell her to try harder to expose her, but people would shun her more till she succeeded. She could tell her that she had him, but this was about Marinette and what she needed, not a moment to take advantage of her loneliness to get close. He sat down slowly, trying to think.

Marinette watched as he slowly reached down to grab the guitar that had been sat next to him, watched as he plucked the strings thoughtfully. Was…was he playing _her _melody? He spoke slowly, “You know…growing up I didn’t have a lot of friends. A lot of the advice I got was contradictory to how I truly was. I’m wasn’t a naturally cheerful person, I wasn’t charismatic. I couldn’t make friends by doing what I was told to do.” Marinette wasn’t sure where he was going with this, and honestly, he wasn’t positive either. “So…I had a lot of free time. Just being alone. And one day, I was listing to Jagged Stone and I thought, how cool is he? The way his music is just all of him…I wanted to be like that too. So, I started taking guitar lessons. I started making music. And it really made me happy, to play guitar, I mean. I got better and eventually; I began meeting people who like music too. I met people who felt touched by my music, I even met you.”

Marinette nodded slowly, thinking she was starting to understand. Luka continued, “By focusing on me and what I liked to do, the right people came. What I wanted to do was clear. Do you kinda get what I’m trying to say?”

Marinette thought for a moment, listening to Luka who continued to pluck at his guitar. She looked at the sky and remembered what it felt like swinging between those buildings just this morning. And then it hit her, “I think I know…what _I’ll_ do about it.”


	3. Chapter 3

Luka had taken her home afterwards. Marinette slowly got off the back of his bike as they stood in front of the bakery. She looked up the building, eyeing the windows, too shy to look back at Luka who had witnessed her tears. She fidgeted awkwardly before turning to him rapidly and bowing, “T-thank you…for today.”

She felt a weight on top of her head that she recognized as his hand; was her face reddening from the blood rushing to her head from her deep bow or was it…“Of course, M-m-Marinette,” she looked up at him as he pulled his hand back, a kind smile crinkling his eyes, “You can always talk to me.” Marinette wondered if the flushed pink color on his face was from the bike ride or the sunset dusting his cheek.

She knew hers was from something else.

She smiled at him and waved as he took off on his bike and rounded the corner. With a deep sigh, she headed upstairs to her room.

She sat at her computer and stared at the home screen. It was a picture of Adrien. “Tikki…I have a question.”

Her kwami zoomed to her side, watching as Marinette scrolled through pictures on her computer, “Well I hope I have an answer!”

Marinette snorted and checked off a picture she really liked, a picture she had taken of the Paris skyline as Ladybug once, and set it as her computers home screen. “The Ladybug I am now…is that my full potential as a hero?”

Tikki pondered her question, “Marinette, you know you always have room to grow as a person-”

“No, not like that. I mean, I guess kind of like that,” she swiveled in her chair to be face to face with Tikki, “But are my abilities just Lucky Charm and a yoyo? Is that all Ladybug has?”

It was a complicated question. A question that was different for each Ladybug, if they ever asked it at all. “Well…the way my magic works, the way Ladybug is…how should I put it? It’s like a direct reflection of the wielder.”

Marinette crinkled her nose, “Are you saying my tacky suit is a reflection of me?”

Tikki gasped and giggled, rolling her eyes, “Marinette! I happen to think it’s cute!”

“It’s boring.”

“Anyways! If we’re taking the suit for example, it’s a reflection of what you needed and wanted. When you first transformed, you didn’t think much of being a hero and the costume reflected it. For you, was a means to an end. And when you saved Alya, transforming a second time, it was still just a necessity. You didn’t think much beyond ‘hero’ and ‘secret identity’.”

Marinette sat back and looked at her ceiling, thinking about it. It was true, when she summoned the costume, she only felt like she needed it to get the job done. “So, if I needed, or say _wanted_, something else…I could make it happen?”

Realizing where Marinette was going with her questions, Tikki’s answer was filled with hidden excitement, “It takes a lot to change what’s already been made.”

“So, what you’re saying is that I can be a better version of myself, of Ladybug, if I try hard enough?”

“Precisely.”

Marinette looked back at Tikki, and then stood up, walking toward her window. The sun was setting, and the dark was starting to overtake the sky. “…Just how _do _I become a better Ladybug?”

“It all starts with you.”

Marinette couldn’t sleep that night. It wasn’t her turn to patrol, and normally, she’d be out like a light, grateful for the time to rest. But now, she couldn’t stop thinking. Luka’s advice was driving her thought process. What she wanted to do was somehow rise above all of this. She wanted to be as powerful as she felt as Ladybug when she was out of the suit. Logically, the girl was aware that Ladybug was her, they were one in the same. However, having an indestructible suit and a magic power that fixed everything definitely added to her confidence as a hero. Being a normal person wasn’t so easy; there was no lucky charm to call upon to give her the steppingstone to success. There was only her.

Marinette tugged on her hair as her mind continued to race, the soft snores of Tikki soothing her slightly. “Well,” she pondered aloud, “What part of me needs to be stronger, anyways?” She already had a good foundation for her mind; she was creative and resourceful, something she’d grown to be after many years of fashion designing. And it wasn’t like she was physically weak either, years of helping her parents move heavy sacks of flower, carrying in produce, and running to and from events she was late for kept her in good shape. Marinette rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face into her pillow and squeezed her eyes shut. What was she missing?

When Marinette opened her eyes again, it was because Tikki was pulling her hair, “Marinette! You’re going to be late, wake_ up_!” She yelped and shot up straight, scrambling to get dressed and grab her bookbag.

With screeched thanks to Tikki for waking her up and the worlds quickest pecks on the cheeks for her parents, she raced out the door.

When Marinette walked through the door, this time very late, Lila was sitting next to Adrien, Nino next to Alya. Miss Bustier clicked her tongue, “Marinette, you can sit in the back since you’re so late today.” For once, Marinette couldn’t argue on that. She sighed and walked between the rows.

Her head filled with rage when she passed Lila, who whispered, “What, no arguments today?” Marinette shot down a glare at the girl who smirked at her.

As if on que, Mylene shot her hand in the air, “Miss Bustier, Marinette’s glaring at Lila!” Appalled, Marinette looked at Mylene in shock!

“Marinette, is that true?” Miss Bustier asked, frustrated, hands on her hips.

Lila began to tear up, looking at the whole class like a deer in the headlight, “I-it’s true! She w-whispered to me…that she hated me!”

The whole class gasped. Everyone except for Nino, who tentatively raised his hand, “Actually…well, Marinette _did _glare at Lila, that I saw. But…her mouth didn’t move. She didn’t say anything…”

Lila’s heart jumped into her throat. She closed her fists, breathing deeply to calm herself before turning up the act, and turned to look at him as pitifully as she could, “Nino…you aren’t saying I’m _lying, _are you?”

Alya crossed her arms, looking at Nino, “Babe, are you sure you just didn’t _see _her say anything?”

Marinette looked at her old childhood friend, the way his cheeks darkened as he looked back and forth, “I-I, well…” He looked up at Marinette. Her eyes were tired, her shoulders slouched. Marinette looked so worn down, and that was enough initiative for him to steel his back, “Dude, she really didn’t.”

Marinette perked up, surprised that Nino had said anything at all. The class was quiet, waiting to see what happened next. Miss Bustier broke the silence, “Marinette…did you whisper something?”

The small act made by Nino was gave Marinette enough confidence to straighter her back and look over her shoulder at her home room teacher. Her stare was steely and honest, not a trace of doubt when she proclaimed, “I didn’t whisper anything!”

There was no room for doubt in that reply. Forced to let it go, the teacher cleared her throat, “Okay, will if you insist. Go sit down.”

The red head girl leaned down to whisper to the liar, who was fuming on the inside. It was lucky her back was turned to the reporter, or else she would’ve seen the ugly expression she wore. “Girl, what was up with that? Why’d you say that if Marinette didn’t even do it?”

The Italians girls’ shoulders hunched over as she curled inward for a brief moment. Then she flipped the switch. Lila turned around in her seat and smiled shyly at Alya, “I-I must’ve imagined it! M-my tinnitus sometimes sounds like voices if I’m scared. Marinette really makes me nervous you know; she’s so mean I can’t help it!”

Alya nodded and leaned back. She closed her eyes briefly to think…hadn’t Lila’s tinnitus been cured by Ladybugs magic? The reporter shook her head, “No,” she thought, “It must’ve come back.”

Meanwhile, Adrien had sat back and watched everything unfold. He bit his nail nervously.

Marinette had gone through school pretty easy this time. The day was nearing an end, and Lila hadn’t tried to mess with her the entire day. Nino standing up for her must’ve thrown her off her rhythm.

The pigtailed girl and the DJ hadn’t spoken at all since that morning, but she still felt like she owed him a thank you. She managed to catch him between classes and asked to talk to him. “Oh, hey! What’s up?”

Pulling her pigtails, Marinette suddenly felt anxious and spoke quickly, “I-I just wanted to thank you. F-for this morning, I mean... You didn’t-you didn’t have to say anything, b-but…you did.”

He was taken by surprise. He laughed, placing his hand on his friends’ shoulder, “Marinette, of course I said something! I saw, you really didn’t say anything.” Marinette smiled as he continued, “Why wouldn’t I?” Nino witnessed her smile drop as quick as it came.

Marinette took a step back, Nino’s hand falling off her shoulder. For some reason, a divide was felt for the first time by the DJ. “Nino…sometimes, I wish you’d look a little closer.” Before he could say anything back, his childhood friend turned her back and walked away.

Honestly, Marinette didn’t feel too good after that conversation, sitting in class, her anxiety growing. She felt like anytime she saw someone whisper to their neighbor, it was about her. How she was messing up, what she had done wrong. What _Lila _said she had done. She felt isolated and alone, unable to focus beyond her own fears. Marinette closed her eyes, her palms sweaty. No, she couldn’t feel like this. That was a one-way ticket to akumitization, and that’s not what she needed right now.

So instead, she focused her last bit of class doodling in her notebook. With each stroke of her pencil, she was drawn back into the idea of being better for herself. To Marinette, that started with Ladybug. She recalled Tikki’s words about her costume. It was boring and bland, but it did get the job done; but that’s not what she wanted anymore. How could it be _better_? As she dwelled on this, she began sketching. She sketched a high neck top thats chest carried the same spotted patter as her original suit, but the sleeves were a pitch-black down to her elbows and the neck was a true gold color. On her forearm, she drew armor like cuffs, ending at her wrist with a bracelet made of gold. The material of the cuff was spotted, and her hands were adorned with black gloves. Marinette pondered on the top half of the design, before adding two solid black lines in an x formation across the chest.

Marinette had to admit, she was having fun with this. It had been a long time since she designed something, having felt uninspired time and time again. So, when she found herself in her groove, she couldn’t stop. A black belt around her waist with a gold buckle shaped like a ladybug to hold her yoyo to her side! Loose fitting black pants, much like the ladybug costume found in the Book of Heroes, except her shoes where knee length boots, spotted, with a thick black sole and black buckles. Oh! What if she had _ribbons_ in her hair?

By the time the bell had rang, she had designed a totally new suit! Marinette smiled and shoved it in her backpack, feeling a lot better after she had drawn. So, when she left the classroom feeling happy, she was disappointed to find Kagami at the front steps of the school. Marinette bit back the negative feeling, chastising herself for feeling that way when it was really uncalled for, and walked up to the fencer, “Hey! Are you waiting for someone?”

Kagami smiled, bowing quickly with perfect posture. “Yes, I am waiting for Adrien to arrive. We both have fencing today.”

“Ah…that make’s sense…”

An awkward silence fell before Kagami spoke again, “To be quite frank, I had also hoped to have cross paths with you, Marinette.”

Pulling her pigtail, the surprise was obvious in her voice, “O-oh? Why’s that?”

Kagami looked down at her shoes before raisign her gaze to meet Marinette’s, “I wanted to apologize. About…Adrien.”

Oh, god, okay. That was not what Marinette had expected. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself, “Oh, you don’t have to, why would you?”

“I know you’re in love with him.”

There it was. The familiar pain in her heart as she bit her tongue, closing her face and trying to keep her emotions in check. Her hands were in fists, her nails cutting into her hands, knuckles white. “Why would you say that,” she whispered.

Kagami reached to grasp her wrist, “Marinette, I’m sorry. It had never been my intention to hurt you, but I too have fallen for Adrien.”

Oh no, she could feel the tears pricking her eyes, “Kagami…”

“However, I still wish to be friends!”

Marinette could hardly take it anymore, “Kagami! Please…listen to me.”

Kagami closed her mouth and waited.

Taking a deep shaky breath, she opened her blue eyes, meeting Kagami’s steady gaze with her own. “Listen, I understand that. But don’t apologize, because Adrien was never mine. You didn’t _do_ anything wrong,” Marinette looked away, “Besides, I’ve tried for so long but…you were the one he ended up liking. Not me. Don’t apologize because in the end, it was always going to be Adrien’s choice.”

“What was always my choice?”

Both girls jumped, scared out of their wits by the surprise entrance of Adrien himself. He smiled, clearly confused as to what he just walked into, but wrapped his arm around Kagami’s shoulder none of the less. Marinette felt her heart twinge. “O-oh Adrien! Funny y-you that mention should- uh, you should m-mention that! We- we were just-!” Her arms flailed around as she tried desperately to peace together a sentence.

“I was asking her if she wanted to fence with us! Today…” Kagami stepped in, her look urging her to play along.

Marinette slowly lowered her arms, forcing a smile on her face, “Oh! Uhm, yeah, exactly!”

Adrien smiled at the two brightly, “That be awesome! What do you say, Marinette? Wanna join us?”

The pigtailed girl was about to say no, but…she thought for a moment. Fencing might actually…be good for her. Fencing required reflexes, strategy, and quick thinking. That’s kind of…_exactly _what she was going for. Marinette puffed out her chest proudly, “You know what? I will!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so, honesty time. Thank ya'll so much for commenting I really didn't expect this to get like, any reads. I'm really just writing this for fun, but I'm glad ya'll like it!


	4. Chapter 4

_What _was Marinette _thinking_? With all the awkwardness in the air, she was practically suffocating. Adrien and Kagami were talking normally as the three headed towards their fencing lessons, but Marinette couldn’t say a peep. Anytime she had something to say she couldn’t bring herself to just…speak. Maybe that was a good thing, her mind was still reeling from the conversation with Kagami.

“Don’t you agree, Marinette?” Kagami asked.

Oh great. “Ah, uhm, well I don’t know…uh, maybe you guys should…say it again?”

Adrien laughed, clapping her back with his hand, “We’re just kidding, don’t worry! We thought you looked spaced.”

Marinette could’ve done without the small amount of panic, but she smiled, surprised they had noticed her lack of conversation. “W-well, uhm. I guess I’m nervous to fence?”

“I’m sure you will be great with enough practice,” Kagami reassured, “Now follow me, it’s this way to the locker rooms.”

The girls got changed, Kagami letting Marinette wear a spare uniform she carried for emergencies and went out to the courtyard with the other fencers. There were a few people there Marinette didn’t recognize, and since most of them were wearing masks already, she couldn’t tell which one was Adrien. “Over here,” Kagami waved to a specific fencer who, low and behold, was Adrien himself. He lifted up his mask as he walked toward them, his green eyes sparkled with a smile, his hair golden and reflecting the suns light. It couldn’t be helped; the way Marinette’s heart skipped a beat was all to familiar and her cheeks colored lightly. She bit her tongue and looked over at Kagami, she was surprised with how…_soft_…she looked. Her fierce brown eyes warmed, pools of dark honey, and her cheeks were tinted like summer peaches. The way Kagami’s lips pulled back into an effortless smile when she watched Adrien walk toward them was startling. Marinette felt like an intruder.

“Hey girls, excited?”

“Excited to defeat you once more, perhaps,” Kagami quipped, poking his chest with her finger as Adrien laughed.

Marinette forced a small laugh as well, tearing her eyes away to focus on the practice sword in her hand. Or was it a saber, she asked herself, busying her mind with thoughtless questions. “So, uhm…how does this whole class thing work?”

Adrien was about to answer but was interrupted by the instructor clapping their hands. Sir D’Argencourt rounded up his students into a straight line as they all scrambled to put on their masks. But there was a figure that was uncommon amongst them. He approached Marinette, “Lift your helmet, please, so I may see who has joined us.”

With a hesitant hand, the pig tailed girl slowly lifted the helmet, raising her eyes to meet D’Argencourt’s. “Uhm, uh, hi! There, I-I was invited to today’s lessons…i-if that’s alright,” she stammered, her heart rising into her throat. She hated the stutter.

The instructor straightened his back, “By whom, may I ask?”

“By me,” Kagami stepped out of line, facing the conversation in front of her.

There was a pause before Armand laughed, lifting his hands up good naturedly, “Ah, well yes, if one of my best students have brought you here, you must be most wonderful!” It was clear that, although Marinette knew who he was from Darkblade, he had no recollection of Marinette at all. “However, I shall be the judge on whether or not you may participate.”

“U-uhm, what exactly does that _mean-”_

“You shall have a duel with me!”

“O-oh, my god, okay, I _think _you have the wrong idea-!”

“Say no more, we duel!” and with that, the class parted into a ring around them, and Sir D’Argencourt took his fighting stance. Marinette stood there, baffled, her sword hanging limply to her side as she stared wide eyed at him.

Some student rang a bell and D’Argencourt leapt to action, going for a straight jab at a Marinette who had no guard up. Marinette yelped and jumped to the side, narrowly dodging the pointy object. It looked like she had no choice but to fight back, but as she tried to regain her balance, the teacher swept to the side, going in again, she tripped over her feet and fell onto her back. “Aha, victory!” the teacher exclaimed, diving his sword towards her. With quick thinking, Marinette rolled sideways, and scrambled onto her feet into a crouch, launching herself behind D’Argencourt so quickly that he didn’t have time to stop his weapon from jabbing into the ground. Marinette took a few steps back, finally able to plant both feet on the ground, and mimicked the position D’Argencourt took at the start. The teacher swiveled around, raising his weapon again before performing a flick, the bendy weapon snapping towards Marinette’s leg.

She dodged, shocked, “Hey! I thought fencing was about hitting the chest only!”

D’Argencourt laughed, “Ah yes, if we were using foils! But you came on the day where we were to practice with épée’s!”

As he came in with sword- épée- raised, forcing Marinette to parry as she shouted, “W-what does that even mean?”

From the audience, Adrien was heard, “It means the whole body is game! Be careful, Marinette! Everything’s open!”

Great. As far as Marinette knew, she had only had to guard her chest. But now, apparently, he could get her anywhere! D’Argentcourt struck forward with a strength. Marinette was barely able to stop the blade, but she hadn’t expected him to flick his wrist again, this time into her block and within seconds, she felt the épée leave her hand. Great. “With no weapon, this shall end quickly for you!”

This was getting frustrating. This was _supposed_ to be a learning experience, not a public humiliation. She was annoyed that he hadn’t let her speak, annoyed that she’d been roped into this dumb duel. And for the love of all things, she was _annoyed _that he was _so _sure he could beat her! So what if he’d been fencing his whole life and she’d done it…not nearly as much, but so what? Even if she lost, she was _not _gonna go down without shutting this teacher up. With a newfound determination, she balled her hands into fists. She waited for the perfect opening, for when he came in with his guard looser than before and dipped underneath his arm. She sidestepped and twisted in till she was behind him again. As he whirled back around to renew his attack, she took the opportunity to duck and roll away.

Frustrated, D’Argencourt raced over, ready to lunge. He raised his arm back to prepare, took a leap forward, and was knocked down. He fell onto his back, the feeling of something pointy against his chest.

Marinette had won. She stood victoriously, the weapon that had been discarded in her hand, the opposite end in the teacher’s chest. She had fooled him; she wasn’t just dodging aimlessly. Marinette had been making him follow her, letting him believe he had no chance of losing, and had made her way to her épée. And with one fell swoop, she had picked it up and stood up, pushing against D’Argencourt’s lunge into a counterattack that landed him on his back.

Everyone was silent, surprised.

Adrien and Kagami cheered, “Marinette, that was awesome!” Soon, everyone joined in, cheering gleefully at the match they had witnessed.

D’Argencourt stood, chuckling thoughtfully, and shook Marinette’s hand, “Truly, you were a formidable opponent! I hope you’ll stay for the rest of the session?”

So, she did.

When Kagami, Adrien, and Marinette were finally walking back outside, the sun was sinking into the sky. Adrien stretched his arms above his head, his muscles straining and popping. “Jeez, we really went hard today, huh? My back hurts like crazy.”

“I agree, today was extremely focused on technique. My arms will surely be sore tomorrow,” Kagami massaged her biceps for emphasis.

Marinette was tired, too. However, it was the type of tired someone got after going on a roller coaster or going sky diving. Her heart was pounding, and her mind was racing far behind her body, “Guys, that was super fun! Thanks so much for the invite!”

Adrien paused in his tracks, turning to face Marinette and placed his hand onto her shoulder, “Of course! You can come anytime; I love hanging out with you!” Marinette couldn’t stop the feelings that rose in her chest. She had to bite her tongue just to keep the color from changing on her cheeks.

With a meek smile, she gave a curt nod, “Maybe I’ll start coming more often, then.”

Kagami spoke up, “Marinette, my ride is here. Would you like a ride home?”

The pig tail girl almost accepted in till the memory of her design crossed her mind. “O-oh! I would love to, but…there’s actually something I wanted to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, idk anything bout fencing & it shows.


	5. Chapter 5

Marinette had waited for the two to leave before walking into an empty part of Paris. She had chosen a remote location, where lots of construction had been taking place. The workers had all left for the day, she noted, as she made her way into a half-finished building. She stood amongst the rubble, the ceiling barely there; not a sound could be heard from the outside. Tikki flew out of her purse, nervous, “What are we doing here? This place seems really dangerous.”

Marinette pulled her backpack from around her shoulders, digging around in till she pulled out a piece of paper. It was the new costume she had designed, “How do I make this happen?”

The kwami paused, looking over the detailed drawing. How the cuffs looked hard like steel, the buckle gave the impression of solid gold, the elegant way the gold neck reached just below the jaw. Tikki took in how the pants fabric seemed thick and stretchy, pulling into hearty boots and buckled straps, the sole of the shoe supportive and hard. “Marinette, these are a lot of changes. I thought it be one or two things-”

“_How _do I make it happen?”

“It’s going to take a lot of energy. To change what already exists immense mental and physical strength. Maybe you should try to change a little at a time.”

The wielder shook her head. “Tikki, I can _do _this.”

It was hard to argue with that kind of raw determination. Tikki sighed, raising a small hand to her mouth, “Well…it’s like meditation. During your transformation, you must solely focus on these changes. Must consider every detail, all while feeding your energy into me.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad…”

“You can only think of this; nothing else. The energy I will be using is basically your life force!”

“What! Does that mean, I could like, die?!”

“Huh? Oh! No, Marinette!” Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, “Ok, well, maybe you could,” Marinette yelped, “Well, think of it like this: your life force is like a battery.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, squinting her eyes, “Uhm…okay?”

Tikki continued, “To keep this life force strong, people need to sleep and eat. They need enrichment and nourishment to recharge the battery.”

“Oh, I get it. So, when I’m awake or running around, my battery goes down?”

“Exactly! However, Ladybugs have an extra expense for this and that is transformation.”

The pig tailed girl held up her hand, signaling for Tikki to pause. “Wait, wait, I thought it was your energy being used and that’s why there’s a time limit?”

Tikki nodded, “Kind of. As a kwami, we _do _use our energy in the transformation. But it’s more like a regulator. We use our energy to keep the wielder from using too much of theirs. It’s like we mingle our energies together.”

“Then why the time limit?”

“I have the energy of a god; no mortal can stand it very long.”

Pacing back and forth, Marinette considered Tikki’s words. All things considered Marinette had never really questioned her transformation. But it did make sense, Marinette really _did_ feel tired after being Ladybug; she just never considered it was because it was using her actual energy just to maintain the transformation. “So…when I make changes to my costume…?”

Tikki nodded, “I’ll be using your ‘will’ to change it. I won’t be using my own, it could conflict with what you want. So, all your energy will be seeping unregulated. Your ‘battery’ would be draining at an alarming rate…”

The air felt colder as the realization dawned. “This really could kill me?” Tikki nodded hesitantly. Marinette lowered her eyes and turned around, walking away. She made her way to a half-finished window and looked out the glass. It made sense why Tikki wanted to change a little at a time now. But then again, who’s to say she couldn’t handle it all? Master Fu had said she wouldn’t be able to handle more than one miraculous, but she had. Who was to say she couldn’t handle this? Marinette turned back around.

“So, is it impossible for you to step in at all?”

Tikki pondered the question, “I…suppose I could? Nobody has asked that before, so I guess I never thought…”

Marinette punched the center of her hand in excitement, “Then it should be fine, right? I can make the changes but if my energy gets too used up, you could stop me!”

Tikki bit her lip, flying a little back; away from Marinette, who took a step towards her kwami. “That’s still really dangerous, Marinette. You’re human, I-I can’t tell _how _much is _too _much for a mortal.”

“But I _have _to do this!”

Tikki felt a spark of fury inside of her, “Why?! Why do you have to risk this? You’re _smarter _than that, Marinette!”

She flew directly into Marinette’s face, startling the young girl as she continued to rant, “Why can’t you just do it a little at a time? Don’t you understand?! You could _die_! I-I might not be able to_ save _you! You can’t, I won’t let you!”

The silence that fell over them was thick, filled only with the shallow, angry breaths Tikki took. Neither of them had noticed, but the last sliver of sunshine there had been from when fencing had ended till that moment had vanished. The moon was beginning to show itself, it’s silver light illuminating the two beings standing face to face, both unsure what would be said next.

Marinette looked down at her hands, her open palms covered in small scars from her everyday life, before making fists of determination. “You don’t understand what it means to be _powerless._”

Tikki breathed, “What?”

Marinette shot her eyes up and the kwami was taken back by the fire in them. The blue seemed to burn right through her, the way the heroes face had their brows set down low over their eyes, the way her mouth was set into a line as straight as their back. “You _don’t _know.”

“Marinette, please-”

“No! Tikki, I can _do _this.”

The energy in the room picked up, the air feeling tinged with electricity as an argument began to brew. “But why _must _you?!”

Marinette stamped her foot, placing it forward as the spark inside her grew terrifyingly strong, reflecting out of her eyes as she jabbed her thumb into her chest and proclaimed, “Because _I _am _Marinette _Dupain-_fucking_-Cheng! I _am _Ladybug and there is not a _single thing _in the world that I! Cannot! Do!”

The force of this statement sent chills down Tikki’s back. Marinette was pure human, but the confidence and sheer energy she gave out had made it seem like the earth shook in response. The breeze had bent to Marinette’s will, gently blowing her pigtailed hair around her face. The silver of the moonlight illuminated the expression Marinette wore, and made it thrice as fearsome; brow set, teeth bared, eyes clear and without a trace of doubt.

The way she looked now rivaled Ladybug’s fierce posture.

Tikki could not refuse.

Marinette now sat in the middle of the dark building in a meditative position. Her palms were clammy, resting on her knees. Her eyes were closed, the tips of her eyelashes brushing her cheeks. Her breathing was steady and calm.

Tikki hovered inches away from Marinette’s face. Her voice was soft, hardly above a whisper, “Are you ready?” Marinette took in a large breath, held it, before releasing it through her nose. She nodded. “Good.”

Tikki closed her eyes. The atmosphere hummed with energy, the ground rumbling slightly as the kwami began to glow, taking a form not a being alive had ever witnessed. Marinette could feel the pure power radiating of the creature, raw and untamed. Ancient. She kept her eyes closed. The hair on Marinette’s arm stood on end, and she felt like she was being launched forward. “Do not open your eyes.” It was Tikki’s voice, but it felt like it was coming from all around her. Marinette could not feel the ground beneath her any longer.

Wind was rushing past Marinette so quick it felt like it would pull her back with it. As quickly as it started, it stopped. Marinette could tell she was not where she used to be, but she did not know where. Again, the booming voice of Tikki, “Concentrate. Think of what you shall become.” Marinette focused as hard as she could, forcing herself not to consider the fact her body felt like it was held in suspension. “Imagine what you wish to see.”

Marinette thought of her hands first, imagining them being covered in skintight gloves, the fabric woven thick and soft. At her wrists, she thought of gold bands encircling them, fusing with the glove and arm gauntlets. The gauntlets, she pictured them in her minds eye, would be stronger than diamonds. The red and black spotted material would be a thick encasing around her forearms, much like armor. It would end at the bend of her, spikes extending past her elbow like shields. The rest of her arms would be covered in a thick black fabric up to her should, so dark it would appear to absorb light. The chest, Marinette wanted it to be almost like chain mail, so closely woven together it would seem like regular fabric. But, if looked upon closely, would be linked and woven together in a protective pattern. Red with black polka dots, only interrupted by the two black straps crisscrossed on the front and back as an x. The gold color was like an armored necklace, protecting her neck.

With each thought, the body part it covered felt heavier. Marinette grew tired, faint. Her breathing had become more labored as she felt her head begin to pound. “Marinette, you must stop.”

Marinette balled her hand into a fist, “N-no, I’m fine.” She shook her head, forcing the exhaustion out. From her fingertips, she could feel her body becoming numb. Taking air into her lungs began to seem like impossible work.

“Marinette!”

“I…am not…finished,” she pushed out. The pants, cinched at the waist with a sturdy black belt, the buckle appearing as if a real ladybug had been encased in gold, would be loose, thick black fabric, the same fit as the first Ladybugs in the Book of Heroes. The color would be the deepest, richest black, pooling out over her knees before being fit into strong boots.

The corners of Marinette’s mind began fading, she could feel the color drain from her face. Her heart was slowing down, each pump feeling more painful than the last.

The boots would almost appear metallic, spotted, but would be flexible and durable. The buckles would run across the front in the place of shoelaces. The soles would break the pattern of the red with black polka dots in their solid dark color.

“Marinette, that is enough!”

“R-ribbons…” Marinette could barely get her lips to move as she imagine the final touch; two long red ribbons from each pigtail.

“Enough!”

Marinette was blown back by the force. It felt like she was freefalling backwards, all while sitting still. The air was practically taken from her lungs, and it felt like each molecule in her body was vibrating. Suddenly, she felt the ground underneath her. The light behind her eyelids dimmed and she opened her eyes, seeing a worried Tikki in front of her. “Marinette, you went to far! Your life force, it-!”

Marinette waved it off, her breath shallow, her body shaking and clammy, “Ok, I guess I could’ve done without the ribbons-” her mouth snapped shut. She had looked down at herself, and what she saw…

It was what she had imagined.

Shakily, Marinette slowly rose to her feet. She looked down at herself, the costume was _exactly_ what she had desired and _more_. In awe, she gazed over her costume, taking in every detail. It was…miraculous. Suddenly, Marinette was engulfed in a flash of red light. When it stopped, she fell to her knees in her civilian clothes, the corners of her vision darkening as she fought to remain conscious. She took in deep, gasping breaths that raked her throat painfully. “I…I was transformed,” she looked up at Tikki, “Without you?”

Tikki flew closer, softly touching Marinette’s cheek, “I told you, the change would not involve my energy…Are you…okay?”

Marinette’s mouth was dry as she swallowed thickly. Was she? She really felt like she could die any second. “I…should probably go home…”

Luka had had a fairly uneventful day. He was currently riding his bike around for some much-needed fresh air after a grueling homework session. He liked how the cool breeze ruffled his arm and seemed to rejuvenate him. He had felt extremely at piece, considering whether or not he should stop and buy some ice cream for him and Juleka when he spotted her. Luka came to a screeching stop, not believing his eyes for a second. There, under the shadows of the night, was Marinette. She was leaning against a building, her legs shaking, her face devoid of color. He rushed to her, “Marinette!”

Marinette looked up, startled by someone calling her name. When she saw Luka coming at her on his bike, she was so surprised she lost her grip on the building wall and began to fall forward. “Whoa!”

Luka rushed to dismount his bike, swopping to Marinette’s side and help lift her from her hands and knees. The guitarist could feel her body trembling, and he put his hand on her forehead. Marinette couldn’t help but feel apologetic that the boy had to feel how sweaty she was, but Luka didn’t pull his hand back when he said, “Marinette, what are you doing out this late? Do you have a fever or something?”

Marinette gave a dry chuckle, accepting the support he offered when he wrapped one of her arms around his shoulder, leaning into the grip he had on her waist to help keep her up. “Something,” her tone was flat.

Luka’s face was filled with concern, there were dark rings under her eyes, the skin gaunt looking. Her hair was rumpled, sticking out of their usual pigtailed style. Gently, he brushed a strand of hair from her face, “Do you…can I help you?” Her fever must’ve been getting worse, her face was reddening!

Marinette gave her best to firmly plant both feet steady on the ground. With agonizing movements, she stepped away from the guitarist. She nearly stumbled, and Luka reached out, but she steadied herself on her own. “N-no! No, I-I’m fine. I just, uhm…slept…with wet hair?” Luka blinked.

“You…slept with wet hair!”

Okay, yeah, that was dumb. It took a lot for Marinette not to give herself a good old-fashioned face palm. “Aha, yeah!” her voice cracked, “Ahem, y-you know you can’t sleep with wet hair or you’ll…you’ll…” Her attempt to subtly walk away was thwarted by the weakness in her legs, and she began to fall again. She didn’t get a chance to hit the ground, Luka had rushed forward and- rather clumsily- grabbed the back of her jacket. She grunted when he pulled her back up, and couldn’t meet his eyes when he had both hands on either arm, steadying her.

“Get sick?” he finished her sentence, a smile smirk growing on his face. Maybe she was actually getting sick, her face was starting to burn.

Luka looked down at his hands, still firmly gripping Marinette’s arms. With a yelp, he pulled his hands to his side, “S-sorry. I didn’t hurt your arm, did I?”

“No, uhm. You didn’t, I swear,” Luka chuckled at the way her voice warbled, and when Marinette meekly raised a fist to her mouth and cleared her throat.

Luka gestured to his bike, “You sure you don’t wanna ride?”

Marinette hesitated.

And then nodded.

Luka made sure to make the trip as smooth as possible; he watched his speed, avoided any bumps he could see under the streetlights. Marinette was gripping the seat of the bike, her head struggling to stay up. She felt a little awkward in the silence of the ride, “I-isn’t funny how we keep bumping into each other?”

Despite the space between them, she could still feel the rumble of his chuckle, “No kidding. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re _stalking _me!”

The weak girl flustered, jerking up and causing the bike to warble with her sudden movements. Luka grunted, regaining the balance. Marinette hung her head in shame, “S-sorry,” then she gave a dignified scoff, “But _me _stalk _you_? How do I know you’re not the one doing the stalking!”

The guitarist chanced a glance at the girl behind him, almost distracted by how pretty she looked under the warm glow of the Paris streetlights, her lips in a small smirk. He focused on what was in front of him. “Touché. Though I gotta ask, what _were _you doing out all sick like that?”

How was she supposed to answer that? Oh, you know, just using the power of a tiny god to help make my superhero alter ego extra fashionable! As if! Marinette wasn’t good at lying, he’d definitely be able to tell if she was. He probably only believed she got sick from wet hair because she looked, well…_sick_! Nevertheless, the truth _definitely _wasn’t an option right now, so she ought to make it as close as possible. “I…I was…looking for inspiration. For a new design.”

“This late at night?”

She shrugged, “What can I say? The night speaks to me.”

Luka let out a whimsical sigh. To him, night was comfort. The air was cooler, the stars brilliant in their gleam, and the atmosphere mysterious, “Can’t argue with that.”

When they pulled up to the bakery, Tom and Sabine rushed out the front door. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” uh oh, her mom just used her whole name, “_Where _on earth have you _been?!”_

Crap, crap, crap, _crap_! Tom came barreling over, lifting her off the bike and up to his eye level. He squinted at her, “Are you okay? Why do you look so…sick?”

Tom set her down and she nearly collapsed, if not for Sabine who pulled her up and placed a hand to her forehead, “Well, you’re just burning up! We have to get you inside into a proper bath immediately.”

At this, the two parents seemed to notice the stunned teen who still sat on his bike. Immediately, they began to fuss over him. Through their thanks and gratitude for bringing their daughter home and his awkward attempts at reassuring him that it was his please, Marinette let out a tired laugh.

When the fuss had died down, Marinette had asked for a moment alone to send Luka off. Her parents agreed to an extent, they’d wait by the front door. Now it was just the two of them…mostly. “I’m…really glad you stalked me. I really appreciate the ride home.”

He let out a melodic laugh, “Well I’m glad you stalked me so I could find you,” with a roll of her eyes, she pushed his shoulder playfully, “You seem to be feeling better, too.”

Marinette faltered. She hadn’t really noticed in till her brought it up, but she did feel a bit better. Her knees were able to carry her wait with only mild trembling, and the corners of her mind had become less shaky. “I…yeah, I do.”

The smile the crossed her face was ordinary. It barely reached her eyes, and her lips were still pressed together. But the warmth that filled her face, the way the bakery lights gave her a soft halo of light behind her, the softness in her gaze. It was enough to make Luka’s heartbeat erratically for just a moment. He cleared his throat, “L-later…Marinette. Next time, lets hang out on purpose.”

Marinette stood on the sidewalks edge in till Luka’s figure disappeared into the night. Her parents came up behind her and led her into her home. Marinette was feeling better.


	6. Chapter 6

Marinette’s parents had nagged her ear off, grounding her for the weekend. “Darn,” she had said, “Now I gotta miss the catering gig…” This, of course, led to a few more earfuls before being sent to her room.

The lights in the teen girls’ room were off, only the light from the window giving off the blue illuminated hue to the room. The desk was messy, and there were clothes on her couch. A few wrappers of the granola bars she had scarfed down were scattered around her bed. Marinette herself laid atop her blankets, her stomach towards the bed, face turned sideways. It hadn’t been planned, but Marinette was suddenly very grateful she had such a big day on a Friday and gotten grounded. Now, she had the weekend to herself and didn’t even have to go the catering gig her parents had where she would have just snuck away for patrol, anyways. Tikki was already sleep next to her, the small creature snoring. Right before the kwami had lost themselves to sleep, Marinette had asked, “Will it be just as hard to transform next time?”

Tikki had shaken her head, “Not nearly as bad, no. But…it will take a lot of energy out of you in till you can bear the changes.” That had not been a thrilling conversation. Marinette rolled onto her side, curling into a tight ball.

When Marinette woke up, it was almost noon. Groggily, Marinette reached over and grabbed her phone. The weather said it be a beautiful Saturday, mild weather and lots of sunshine. It was a good day to hang out with friends! Marinette thought about asking the girls to hang out today, oh! They could have a picnic or go to the pool! With a happy smile, she opened up a random social media app. Scrolling through, she liked a few pics from her favorite designers and artist. Jagged Stone had even uploaded a small studio clip for his upcoming song! She squealed, and without thinking, sent it in a DM to Luka. Oh god wait, why did she do that? It was too late, anyways, she nervously kept scrolling. Marinette noticed Alya posted something to her story and clicked on it. Oh, so Marinette wasn’t going to ask the girls to hang out after all. The picture was a looped video of Alya and all the girls surrounding Lila. Marinette clicked out of the app and went to her messages.

She had a few unopened ones, one from her group chat with her mom and dad (‘You’re still grounded but feel better today!’) and she noticed one from Alya. It was a few hours ago…asking if she wanted to hang out. Marinette huffed through her nose; her feelings of mild anger would be easier to deal with if Alya _hadn’t _asked. But…she had. And this time it actually _was _Marinette’s fault for not replying in time. Rolling over in bed, she typed a quick apology explaining that she hadn’t been feeling good and sent it, deciding to forget about it anyways. It felt good to lay in bed, sleeping in. However, the icky feeling of sweat build up was not fantastic, signaling that she needed a shower badly.

The trip to the bathroom was short. Rubbing her face lazily, she finally raised her head to look into the mirror above the sink. “Gyah!” Marinette leaped away, disbelieving of her appearance. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles, her skin was dull and as was her hair. Her cheeks looked hallow and the blue color or her irises didn’t hold its normal jewel tone. She looked half dead, and she was quick to hop in the shower to avoid taking in her appearance any longer.

She felt a million times better after putting on a new pair of pajamas. The color had returned to her face just a tad. But she still felt lonely.

Marinette had just enough strength to shuffle into the kitchen. To her delight, her parents had left her breakfast sandwiches on a plate. They were buttery croissants stuffed with fried ham, egg and cheese. She grabbed two and began stuffing her mouth. Tikki gave a curt cough, flying into the kitchen, signaling Marinette to pull out a box of cookies for her little friend. They munched and chatted idly, enjoying each other presence so early in the morning. Well, _afternoon…_the clock was already ticking towards two thirty. After clearing the dishes from the table, the pair were growing restless in their captivity. Glancing out the window, Marinette could see it was a gorgeous day. The sun was bright in the sky with lazy clouds floating about the brilliant blue of the sky. The trees bent subtly, hinting at the lightest of breezes. A perfect day to hang out on her balcony.

But Marinette didn’t want to spend another weekend alone. She’d had a lot of weekends alone, and though they were peaceful- save for the akuma attacks- they had been lonely. Making her way back to her room, she fiddled with her phone. Who could she call? Alya was…anyways, most of her gal pals were already preoccupied. She and Nino hadn’t spoken since…okay she wasn’t going to think about that. Adrien? As if. “What’s wrong?” Tikki inquired, hearing the sorrowful sigh that escaped Marinette.

“It’s just…I think the worst part of Lila is that she _really_ did it. She really isolated me from my friends,” her lower lip quivered, and she bit down to stop it, “I don’t…_have _anyone.”

Tikki reached a comforting touch to Marinette’s cheek, “Well, you have me and Chat Noir, right?”

Marinette laughed, “I mean, yeah. But I can’t go out for hot cocoa with you or him. I can’t shop, go to the park, have a picnic, or go to the pool with you guys. With Chat Noir, it’s work. We have fun on patrol, sure, but that’s all we can have, you know? And Tikki, no offense, but you’re legit a tiny god. The realm of relatability is, like, way off.”

The red kwami giggled at Marinette’s little rant. However, her heart ached for her hero. Many Ladybugs had been lonely in their lifetimes, forced to bear the weight of the world alone as a civilian. Guarded against the world to prevent corruption to their hearts. She didn’t want the life those Ladybug’s had lived for Marinette. Marinette was different, she was bright and social. The young girl loved to interact with people, to smile and have fun. So Tikki thought for a moment, before recalling a certain guitarist. “Well, there’s Luka, right?”

Marinette’s eyes widened and a grin spread across her face. “Oh yeah, Luka!” the smile faltered, and her eyes looked away, “…But what if he says no?”

Tikki shrugged, “If he does, you’ll still be okay. But wasn’t he the one who asked to hang out on purpose next time?”

Marinette pondered those words, recalling that he had in fact stated that. Her hand squeezed her phone, “You know, I think I’ll do it.”

Marinette had packed a basket full of goodies from her family’s kitchen. Quiches and frittatas her father had made, tiny bite sized pies her mother had filled with a custard and topped with fruits, and some water bottles. It wasn’t much of a picnic, but that hadn’t stopped her from going outside, gripping the basket tightly. She made her way through the streets, enjoying the subtle warmth the sun brought down onto her skin. The air was filled with a mild breeze, the subtle sent of the restaurants and stores lining the streets filling her nose. She felt tired as she continued her journey but moving so much gave her limbs a chance to stretch and feel the tickle of the sunlight. It was a peaceful day, though she still stayed alert for an akuma at any second.

Eventually, she found herself in front of a familiar boat house. Marinette was beginning to feel nervous. What if he wasn’t home? What if he said no and she came all this way for nothing? What if a giant sea monster came and engulfed the ship because it smelled some of the delicious frittatas? What if Juleka opened the door? Wait, no, that was impossible. Juleka was hanging out with Lila today. “Oh, I should just go home!” she moaned, ready to turn back around.

And then she heard it.

It was the soft strum of the guitar; the music was melancholic. It felt…sad. As if someone was lonely, desperately trying to feel a connection. Desperate to feel some type of way; determined. The sound became stronger, a bit angrier, as if asking why _should _I feel sad about being alone? Aren’t I enough to be just me? And then it became heavy, angry and defiant. The tune was harsh and fast, unforgiving. Marinette was drawn to it, and she found herself forgetting her anxieties as she walked up to the door and gave a knock. The music stopped. There was the sound of something being put down, and then footsteps. And before she knew it, Luka opened the door.

“Marinette?” the guitarist hardly recognized the girl in front of him. Her pigtails were listless, limp by her face without a trace of shine. Her skin was nearly transparent, the dark circles ringing her eyes a painful purple color. When she smiled at him, he noticed her lips were chapped as if she hadn’t had a lick of water in weeks.

Marinette knew that she was, at some level, unsightly, and she bowed her head, preventing his gaze from resting on her face for too long. “H-hey, Luka. So uhm, I was just, you know…in the neighborhood,” she gave an awkward jazz hand, “a-and I have this basket. Would you, uh, if you’re not busy I mean. There’s like, food? In it? And-” She stopped talking when Luka chuckled, her face burning with embarrassment.

She braced herself for a rejection that never came, “Are you asking to have a picnic?” Slowly, blue eyes looked up to meet his. He was smiling at her, sincere and warm.

“Yeah, you know…if you want to.”

Luka felt his heart leap in his chest. When he had asked Marinette to hang out, he hadn’t expected her to do so much for him. To prepare a picnic and walk all this way even though she was sick, it was truly a gesture of kindness. “Sounds like a great time, where to?”

They both walked to a nearby park, Luka taking the basket from Marinette after asking if it was alright. He had gone back inside to grab a blanket for them to sit on and grabbed juice boxes to go along with what there already was. They both chatted excitedly, making their way to a spot under a large oak tree that was spotted with green clovers, shaded enough to keep the sun away but not enough for it to be cold. Luka spread out the blanket, and Marinette burst into a fit of laughter. It was a Ladybug and Chat Noir blanket, the two heroes’ faces turned into cartoon chibi’s for the merchandise. As they took their seats, Luka stuck his tongue out at her, “What? Not a fan of the greatest heroes of all time?”

Marinette just rolled her eyes, taking out the food she had packed, “Oh shush, everyone’s a fan. I just didn’t expect _you _to have a blanket with their faces on it!”

“Can you blame me? How could I have turned down this plush design!”

The two laughed and began to snack. “So hey, I heard you playing the guitar earlier!”

Luke chocked on what he was eating, pounding his chest as he coughed, Marinette frantically slapped his back to help him. He gave one final cough before gasping, “I-uhm, you heard that?”

The anxiety filled expression was a surprise. She rarely saw Luka lose his cool, and suddenly it felt like she had heard something she wasn’t supposed to. The juice box in her hand crumbled lightly under her grip, “Oh yeah, I listened to it. It was…amazing.”

“It was nothing.”

Nothing? Nothing! As if! Marinette had heard it with her own ears, it had been incredible! A one-man war! A testament to fury and loneliness! The way the notes had marched on in a blaze of glory and the melody seemed to hit her like a massive wave! But all that came out of her mouth was, “I liked how it sounded.” Close enough.

Suddenly, the way the leaves swayed in the breeze became very interesting to the both of them. They didn’t say anything for a moment, allowing the sounds of the city to temporarily fill their ears; cars bustling by, the chime of a bike bell, the laughter of kids on the playground near them. Luka fiddled with the hem of his shirt. He didn’t expect for anyone to have heard that song…ever. For him, it was a permanent work in progress. The same way someone would write in a diary, he wrote down the notes and rhythms. The song was a direct reflection of how he felt, his most vulnerable feelings. And Marinette heard it.

And said it was amazing.

“Thanks…I’m glad you liked it.” They shared a small smile between them, both unsure on how to continue. That is, until a booming voice was heard from yards away.

“Marinette?!”

The pigtail girl dared not turn to face the voice. But she knew who it was and who must’ve been with her.

It was Alya, most likely tailed by the other girls judging by how Luka perked up, “Juleka!” His fleeting happiness to seeing his sister was wiped away when he noticed the hostility the other girls harbored as they approached Marinette. Instinctually, he stood up, placing himself between Marinette and the group. He was quick to spot Lila, in the middle of them all.

When they got close enough, Luka quickly grabbed his sister by her shoulder, “Juleka, what are you doing here?”

She rolled her eyes, softly moving away from his touch. Barely above her normal speaking volume, her reply was snarky, “Why are you hanging out with _Marinette_?”

He didn’t get a chance to say anything back, the other girls pushing past him to stand formation behind Marinette, who still hadn’t turned to look at them. Luka couldn’t blame her though, it was like looking at a group of apex predators when you were something way smaller, like…a ladybug or something. The girl with glasses haughtily put her hands on her hips, clearly angry, but at what? The answer was quick, “Hey, what the _hell_ are you doing hanging out with Juleka’s brother, huh? Aren’t you supposed to be sick and _that’s _why you didn’t reply and come hang out? Did you _lie_ to me? Huh? Liar-!” Alya’s words faltered.

Marinette had turned around.

The girl looked at them over her shoulder. The shadows did nothing to uplift the gaunt look on her face. It was startling how translucent she looked, not pale, Marinette was never pale, just…see through. Like you could count the blood vessels under her skin, and see her cheekbones pultruding out as if her flesh was not even as thick as tissue paper. The way her lips were set into a thin frown accented how chapped and crusty they looked. Marinette looked like a corpse, the way her hair hung limply in their ties around her face. But her eyes, her eyes were very much alive. As ringed with purple and blue as they were, the piercing and silent anger made her eyes glimmer like sapphire fire.

To put it frankly, she looked terrifying.

“Liar? Is that what you were going to say?” even though the words were spoken at such a low volume, not a single person missed a syllable.

“Ew, oh my god! You look disgusting!” Lila blurted out, unable to contain her disdain for the sickly girls’ appearance.

Luka again stood between Marinette and the pack, “Hey, take that back! There’s no need to be terrible!”

Lila’s eyes looked over Luka before her mouth curled into a smile, “O-oh, sorry! It just…reminded of me of when I had to help the lepers back in America…so traumatizing…”

A short girl and a girl with a headband turned to coddle the girl who let out a few crocodile tears. Luka couldn’t care less, “Lepers? Really? Who are you, Jesus Christ?”

Juleka stepped forward tailed by Rose, “Hey, don’t bully her. She’s a great volunteer!” The two siblings began their own argument to the side, the sweet blonde left to attempt and break it up. All that was left was Marinette and Alya, staring at each other.

Slowly, Marinette rose from her position on the ground, looking at Alya with a hint of a glare. “I said, were you going to call me a liar?”

Alya huffed, clearly caught in the wrong. But she didn’t _want _to be wrong, she _couldn’t _be. “How was I supposed to know you’d actually be sick when I see you in the park, huh, home girl?”

Crossing her arms defiantly over her chest, it was clear Alya wasn’t going to back down.

Two beats passed before Marinette let out a low chuckle, “You’d _know _because I _told _you.”

“Who was to say it wasn’t an excuse to avoid _Lila_?”

Marinette took a step forward, getting nose to nose with Alya, “Does _this_ look like an excuse?” she gestured to all of her.

Alya took a step back, “How was I supposed to know?”

“You’d _know _because I’m not a _liar_.”

Alya gave a sniff, turning her head away, “Well, that’s not what Lila’s been saying. She says you’ve been spreading lies about her, saying that she hasn’t done anything she says she has! That she’s _not _best friends with Ladybug!”

Oh god, was she being serious? Marinette could not believe what she was hearing. Had all her attempts to expose Lila…been turned against her? Her shocked expression gave Alya an opening to win, “See? I can tell from your face that it’s true! You _have _been spreading lies about Lila!”

“I- how did- what in the actual,” Marinette was so angry she couldn’t even form a sentence.

Was it possible that Lila could smell weakness? Because she chose a great time to over come her leper trauma to step in, “I-it’s true! You’ve been telling people I’m a liar! How could you? When I try so hard to be your friend!”

The anger was bubbling inside Marinette rapidly. Alix and Mylene had joined in, siding with Alya and Lila. It was a four against one argument, Marinette too shocked to defend. Her pulse rushed into her ears, drowning out what they were now yelling at her as she could only stand. For the first time in her life, she wanted to hurt someone other than Hawkmoth.

All her attempts to tell the truth, all the time she spent trying to save her friends from the empty promises the Italian girl had made them, had been turned against her. Made to villainize her as someone who was jealous and petty. Well no more, she thought, I’ll never help you lot ever again.

Luka was the only one to notice the purple butterfly descending from the sky. He was the only one to notice is head toward Marinette. Breaking away from his argument with his sister, he pointed, “Look out!”

Everyone turned to look and screeched. Everyone’s emotions were so high, they couldn’t be sure who it was for. Except Luka, who had witnessed it come a measly two feet from Marinette’s earrings. All the girls ducked and covered, trying to get away from the butterfly. They all turned to run away. Marinette tried to get away, to someplace where she could transform, but her foot caught on the picnic blanket and she fell. The other girls were meters away by then, including Luka. But he had turned around, looked over his shoulder and saw Marinette on the ground and Lila…just…standing there?

What were they doing?! Didn’t they know they were in danger! Luka changed his direction, rushing toward Marinette. He reached down and scooped her up, but paused when she said, “Lila…don’t.”

He turned around, honestly, he hadn’t paid to much attention to the Italian girl. But now he did. It was terrifying.

Lila stood there, a smile on her face; a look of innocence. She had her hands behind her back as she rocked back and forth on her tippy toes, staring at the butterfly. Lila’s green eyes turned toward Marinette, the smile growing, before she launched one hand forward, grabbing the butterfly with her bare hands. Slowly, she brough the other hand from behind her back out, holding her wrist in front of her face. She was wearing a bracelet. “Tell my _best friend _Ladybug I said hi.”

Luka didn’t stay to watch the rest as he scooped up Marinette and sprinted away, as fast as he could.


	7. Chapter 7

Lila watched as they all ran. She was glad that their screams and running hadn’t caused much disturbance outside their little bubble. Her smile remained on her face as she hovered the butterfly over her bracelet, barely enough for it to touch. Instantly, Hawkmoth’s voice entered her head, “Leper, you’ve-”

“Ew, as if.”

Hawkmoth stopped in his tracks. The silence felt drawn out. “I beg your pardon?”

Lila rolled her eyes under the purple glow of Hawkmoth’s symbol, “They _saw _me grab it. I’m not stupid, you know. Not even _I _can lie myself out of that one.”

“…What did you have in mind?”

A snort, “Not being called Leper for one. Anyways!” she flipped her hair over her shoulder, “I can’t be the one who is akumatized. They’ll tell everyone that I grabbed it for sure. But how could anyone believe them,” she paused, glancing across the park at a small boy, crying over his toppled castle in a sandbox, “when I’m not the one who has been akumatized?”

“Luka! Luka, please, you have to put me down!” her fists were balled into his shirt, she could feel how frantically his heart was beating. His face was terror stricken.

“Are you _crazy_? We-we need to get away, an akuma-!”

“Enough!” Marinette roared, forcing herself from his grip. He stumbled and she leaped out of his arms, landing on her two hands before rolling over and landing on her feet. They stood, panting for a moment, “Luka, I-”

The sentence never got a chance to finish, as the rise of screams began to grow from where they had run from. They turned, and saw…not…Lila? It was clearly a child akuma, a boy who was made of sand. The akuma was hurling balls of hardened sand at buildings, destroying everything. “Oh my god,” the words tumbled from their lips in unison. The streets became flooded with people running away. Groups of people bumping into them, separating them. “Marinette!” Luka’s head could hardly be seen above the crowd before he disappeared completely, “Marinette!”

The girl in question was being bumped into, nearly toppled, by the civilians rushing from the destruction. She used it as a cover, a distraction, to slip into the alleyways. “I’m sorry, Luka. I’ll fix this.”

Adrien and Kagami had been sat in front of an ice cream shop, enjoying their scoops and company. Kagami was a very observant person, so she noticed when the blonde boy wasn’t as perky as usual, “Adrien, is something bothering you?”

The model sighed, putting his spoon down. “Well, yeah. Kind of. But it’s not that important.”

The fencer put her hand over Adrien’s, he could feel the calluses from her hours of practicing, the warmth and strength they brought his own. He looked up to meet her eyes and found that she was looking at him fondly, “I insist, there is nothing insignificant enough for me to ignore, as long as it’s from you.”

Adrien sighed, hesitating for a moment and chewing his lip nervously. Honestly, he had been trying to push off his gut feeling for a while, but there was no better time to deal with it than the present. “Ok, so you know Marinette, right? Duh, dumb question,” Kagami giggled and nodded, “Well…there’s this other girl named Lila that Marinette really, _really _hates and-”

“Marinette hates someone?” Kagami was surprised.

He backtracked, “Well, I won’t say she hates her, just…strongly dislikes.”

“Ok, but why?”

Adrien bit his lip, “Well…Marinette thinks this girl is lying,” Kagami grew suspicious, slowly leaning in to hear more, “And she keeps trying to get everyone in the class to get that Lila is lying. But Lila’s been akumitized, like, _twice_! And I told Marinette that she shouldn’t try and expose her because things will work out anyways, and if she does it might get Lila akumitized again!”

“Well…uhm, ok,” Kagami clearly had more to say, but she let Adrien keep talking.

“So, this past Friday before we all went fencing, Marinette tripped Lila up in her lie. Lila told everyone that Marinette whispered that she hated her in Lila’s ear, but Marinette would never, right? Right. So, Lila’s lie didn’t work out and everyone knew that she’d been lying that time. I’m worried that…that if people find out she’s been actually lying she’ll get akumitized even more.”

“Okay, wait, you _know _she’s lying?” Kagami drew her hands back, balling them into fists to rest under her chin as she stared at him quizzically.

“I-yes, but,”

“And, let me understand, you’ve been leaving Marinette alone to try and bring the truth out?”

“Well when you put it like that-”

Kagami scoffed, “Adrien, I’m not putting it as anything, that’s what you are _doing_. If you know this Lila character is lying, shouldn’t you also try and bring this to light?”

Adrien fumbled for a bit, suddenly unsure. “I mean, things will work out on its own…she’ll get caught eventually.”

Kagami sighed, placing her hand on top of his again, “Adrien…that may be true, but at what cost? If that happens, she’ll be getting akumitized anyways. And who is to say the lie that gets her doesn’t end up hurting someone?”

The blond winced, “I-I guess that’s true…”

“Adrien, you can’t let Marinette go through that alone.”

He went to open his mouth again but was interrupted by roaring screams. The two stood suddenly, knocking their chairs backwards as they saw the akuma raising over the city. A sand boy, a boy made of sand. The destruction he was causing was visible from where even they stood. Adrien swore under his breath, witnessing people run away in terror, finding shelter. He grabbed Kagami by her shoulder, “You have to get out of here!”

She grabbed his forearms back, “What about you?”

He smiled down at her before placing a kiss on top of her forehead, “Don’t worry about it.” He pushed her back and she stumbled into the Gorilla, who was barreling over from where he’d been ‘babysitting’ to get them. But when the two regained their balance and looked up, Adrien had disappeared.

Marinette had found a dark part in the alleyway, and she was panting. She felt sick and anxious. Tikki flew out her hiding spot in her purse, “Marinette, oh my god-!”

“Tikki, I need to transform!”

Tikki guffawed, “Marinette, in your condition you couldn’t”

The pigtail girl snapped back, “Tikki, we don’t have a _choice_! There’s _danger_! I’d have to transform eventually, anyways!”

“Yes, but your energy!”

“Doesn’t matter right now! I am Ladybug, Tikki. As long as I can stand, I can save Paris.”

Tikki looked at her wielder and knew she was right, “Your transformation won’t last as long.”

Marinette made a fist in front of her face, “Then I have no choice but to end this quickly. Tikki, spots on!”

Chat Noir leaped across the Paris buildings, racing toward the direction people fled from. Where was Ladybug? He couldn’t spot her familiar red polka dotted suit as he got closer and closer to the villain. He could hear it now, “I am Sand Boy! I will topple every building I see!” Oh god, what kind of villain quip was that? Chat decided that wasn’t very important at the moment. There were less buildings for him to leap to, so he used his staff to launch himself as close as he could. He hit the ground, meters from the towering villain. Sand Boy was as big as a building himself; the buildings he was destroying were crumbling to sand, adding onto his massive power and body. He still couldn’t see Ladybug anywhere, meaning he was going to have to hold this one off on his own for a while.

Chat leaped up, landing on top of a light pole and extending his staff as long as he could, taking a position like a baseball player, “Hey Sand Boy!” The akuma turned to face him, “Don’t you know? You’re nothing,” he heaved forward, his staff slicing through the air, “but a big ol’ litter box!” Sand Boy roared in anger as the staff struck him hard, spewing sand everywhere as a huge chunk of him spilled out.

It didn’t seem to do much except make him mad. “Uh oh,” Chat said, seeing a giant hand coming to swat at him as if he was a mere fly. He tried to jump out of the way, but Sand Boy enlarged his hand and was able to strike Chat’s lower half, sending the hero sailing.

Chat screamed before finally hitting the side of a building, where he stuck momentarily before peeling off and landing on top of the shorter building neighboring the wall he had hit. He groaned in pain, his head spinning. He tried to stand but fell back down, totally shaken. Chat could see Sand Boy gearing up another attack, creating a ball of sand. Sand Boy hurtled it towards him, and he could’ve sworn he was a goner. He was flat on his stomach, barely able to raise his head to watch his impending doom approach. Barely able to see the red polka dotted boot step in front of him, the thick black sole of the shoe creating a defiant stomp. Chat raised his green eyes up and saw the back of…Ladybug? Her costume was…different. It was more mature, more heroic. Her back was turned to him her shoulders squared into the face of danger. The costume was so different was it…really Ladybug? But then she turned her face toward him and her dazzling, ferocious sapphire eyes could not be mistaken for anyone else. She looked sick, unwell, but the goddess like expression of confidence was that of the one and only Ladybug. “Hey Kitty,” she smiled at him before turning back. The sand ball was almost upon them.

Chat braced for impact, “M’Lady!” he cried out. Yet she remained calm, her hand reaching for the yoyo that was now attached to a shiny leather belt. She flicked the string out and spun it, the yoyo string expanding as she stepped forward to stand at the edge of the building, allowing the yoyo to stretch out even more. She spun it so fast, it almost became a solid blur, a shield. And when the sand ball hit, the yoyo dispelled it back, the force of the impact causing the ribbons in Ladybugs’ pigtails to flutter furiously behind her.

Chat’s heart fluttered in his chest, totally breath taken by the silhouette she produced. Powerful, confident and unshakeable. He couldn’t help the twisting in his heart, “Incredible.” The sand had been completely dispelled, and Ladybug called her yoyo back to her. She took a step behind her, facing herself towards her partner.

“You ready, Chat Noir?” she cast her smile upon him, reaching her hand out.

He took it, standing again, “Always, Ladybug.”

When he took her hand, he could feel her trembling; when he looked into her face, he was startled to see that she looked feverish. He clasped her shoulder, “LB, are you…okay? Your costume, it’s…”

Ladybug sighed, tugging on her pigtail nervously, “Listen long story short: I changed my costume, but it took a stupid amount of energy, which, apparently it intertwined with our life battery? So, like now my battery is probably around 20%, and I have half the time for a transformation than usual.”

Chat blinked. “Uhm…okay.”

“Anyways, we gotta end this fast.”

She stepped away from him, analyzing the akuma from afar. He was made of sand, but he had a toy like shovel branded into his chest. It appeared to be the only solid part of him. “It’s the shovel, it _has _to be! We have to get it.”

“Easier said than done, M’Lady. This one is,” as if to emphasis his words, Sand Boy sent a sand ball into another building and demolished it, “Really, really strong.”

Great, this was perfect timing for an extra strong akuma. Ladybug was not feeling fantastic, not nearly as bad as the first time, but still not fantastic. She sighed, rubbing at her temples. A hand touched her shoulder lightly, “Ladybug, don’t worry. We got this. We always do.” They locked eyes, the understanding behind Chat’s mask calmed and reassured her.

She placed her hand back over his, “Of course we do. Now, follow my lead.”

They ran behind the destruction of the city, but still followed Sand Boy on his path. Ladybug didn’t have an idea yet, and she needed one quick. She knew where the butterfly resided, but it felt impossible to get to. How were they going to get that close? Unless…

“Chat, I’ve got a crazy idea that just might work.”

And that’s how Chat found himself clinging to the railing of a building, willingly standing still as a sand ball hurtled towards him. He yelped, bracing for the impact which came with such a force, it knocked the air out of his lungs. The building turned to sand around him and he was pulled under, he barely got a chance to hold his breath before he was fully submerged. He felt his body being pulled by an invisible source, and then upward. He ‘swam’ toward what he could only hope to be the surface and broke through, his head popping into air. Chat gasped, coughing out a bit of sand and snorting it out of his nose, “Ugh, I’m never going to get this out of my suit.”

He looked around to see where he was moving and saw that the sand carrying him was bringing him closer to the toy shovel. Soon, he’d be able to reach it and- “Bad kitty!”

Sand Boy had spotted him in the midst of his body. He reached down a powerful hand as if to swat him and Chat yelped, dipping back underneath. He swam around before popping back up somewhere else, where he had to duck again to avoid getting swatted. It was like a weird game of whack-a-mole. Sand Boy roared in frustration, unable to catch Chat. Soon, the hero found himself on the backside of the villain. “When they said life was a _beach_ this isn’t what I had in mind,” he grumbled to himself.

Ladybug stood on top of one of the last remaining buildings. From where she could stand, she could see the little black dot that was Chat Noir distracting Sand Boy, just as she had intended. This next part, however, was going to need a whole lot of luck. Ladybug hopped from foot to foot, like a boxer, and she shook the jitters from her hands. She wasn’t sure what would happen to her when she called Lucky Charm, but it was now or never. She had to do it eventually, or else she wouldn’t be able to heal Paris of its destruction. Finally, she planted both feet and shot her hand into the air, squeezing her eyes shut, “Lucky charm!”

She waited for something to fall into her hand, but in stead a heavy thud fell next to her, shaking the rooftop. Surprised, Ladybug jumped back eyes wide open. “What the-?” the hero found herself staring at…a catapult? How was that even possible? Lucky Charm was always a vague object, way smaller too. But now it was…exactly what she would need. Time was of the essence, and right now, she didn’t have a lot to use questioning the specifics. However, she did make a mental note to ask Tikki later. She whipped out her yoyo and rang Chat Noir.

Chat was getting tired, swimming through the sand was difficult. He’d probably never complain about running over sand for his action shots ever again, now it seemed like a walk in the park. He felt his baton buzz and he sank under the sand, the green eyed veil of his mask keeping his eyes safe as he saw Ladybug’s face appear on screen, “Chat, I need you to use your cataclysm on Sand Boy!”

His facial expression conveyed what he wanted to say, “What?! Are you crazy! That could kill him!”

“I know, I know! But look, it just needs to reach the shovel, it won’t reach his ‘real’ body. You gotta trust me.”

Chat Noir always trusted Ladybug. And with that, he burst above the sand and swam quickly, racing towards the center of Sand Boy’s chest. Sand Boy was growing frustrated, and with extreme and unexpected speed, his hand launched toward Chat Noir. He was wide open, having disbanded his defenses for a newfound plan of offense. But he could see the gigantic hand hurdling toward him and he strained himself with all his might to go faster. It wasn’t enough, and he felt himself getting scooped up. He panicked, flailing his hand forward, his fingertips barely brushing the torso of the villain, “C-cataclysm!”

The sand immediately began to crumble and blacken, Sand Boy roared out in fear and anger. It was getting closer and closer to the shovel, and soon the sound surrounding it was destroyed. Where was Ladybug? The cataclysm kept rising! His thoughts were broken by a feral war cry, and he looked towards the sound.

Chat Noir could not believe his eyes. Ladybug had been hurled as mind boggling speeds. Her legs were straight behind her, one hand reached out, her head ducked for in and bracing for impact. Chat watched as she soared through the sky, aimed directly for the toy shovel.

Ladybug hurtled into Sand Boy’s chest, she felt her fingers wrap around something solid, and thanks to the cataclysm, she was able to burst clean through like a bullet. That’s when she realized she didn’t have any plans for landing. Her war cry turned panicked, and she fumbled for her yoyo. “M’Lady!” she heard from the distance, and before she knew it, she was being caught. Ladybug thudded into Chat Noirs chest, and she grasped onto him. Chat acted quickly, using his staff like a gigantic pole vault, he elongated it till it hit the ground with a painful strike. The pole launched them forward, falling in an arch. They landed in a tree, tumbling through the leaves in till they finally found solid ground again.

Chat rolled over on his hands and knees and aged, “Oh, god I’m gonna be sick…oh, yup, here come the hair ball-” he was interrupted by his yacking.

Ladybug was on her gasp, struggling to bring in oxygen after getting the wind knocked out of her chest. She sat up slowly, her head rolling as she saw double. She blinked hard a few times before she heard a shrill scream. She looked up, having completely forgotten about Sand Boy, who was now just a boy falling from his place in the sky. Ladybug groaned, shoving the shovel that was still clutched into her hand into the pocket of her new costume, “Can’t this just be easy?”

With a great struggle, she forced herself back up on her feet and started an ungraceful sprint. She tossed out her yoyo, wrapping it around two light posts that still stood, leaned back, and used it to launch herself like a giant slingshot. She sailed through the sky once more, this time not hearly as high, and scooped the falling child into her arms. Since she was closer to the ground, she was able to tuck and roll, using her body as a shield to protect the child. When they came to a stop, she could feel him trembling and sobbing, “I-I’m sorry! S-she told me! It would be ok!”

Ladybug groaned, barely registering what he was saying over her throbbing headache. The hero set the boy standing up, “I, what?” she tried to listen to him as she brought the shovel out from its hiding spot, cracking it open. She grumbled the words, going through the motions to purify the akuma as quick as possible.

“The-the lady! With the green eyes!” he sobbed, snot running from his face. Ladybug sighed, wiping the tears from his face before drawing the child into a hug.

A heavy sigh left her lips as she felt the boy cry into her chest, his tiny hands grabbing the back of his costume like his life depended on it, “It’s ok, kiddo. You’re fine now.”

Chat Noir had caught up to them, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He could hear Ladybug’s earrings begin to beep. Her partner places his clawed hand on her shoulder tenderly, getting her to look up at him with weary eyes. “I’ll handle this. You have to go find your lucky charm before your time runs out or were stuck like this.”

The boy stepped back from the hug, now turning to embrace Chat’s leg and sniffling quietly. “Thank you, Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Ladybug patted his head before yoyoing away.

Her tired feet landed on the rough of the building where she had catapulted herself. With a lazy hand, she grabbed it and casually tossed it into the sky, “Miraculous Ladybug!” Her transformation held up only long enough for Paris to be reset.

She collapsed on her knees, breathing heavily. “Marinette!” Tikki cried out, worriedly, “Marinette, are you ok.”

The pigtailed girl laughed, “No. I’m not. Did you hear what the kid said?”

“No.”

“Well…I’ve got to get you up to speed on a lot of stuff.”

Marinette pulled out her cellphone and nearly passed out. She had a hundred missed calls. From Alya, from Luka, and from her parents. She groaned. Why couldn’t things just be easy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action is hard, action is dumb. She punched it, the end.


	8. Chapter 8

The city of Paris was in a chatter, gossiping about the akuma, Ladybug’s costume, and the damage that had been undone. The buildings that had once been crumbled to sand stood proudly again, good as new. The streets were no longer covered in sand, and the threat of being hit by a gigantic sand ball was no longer eminent. If only such concerns could be the end of it for Marinette. She huffed out of the building, fixing her blazer over her torso and attempted to primp her hair. The young heroin still felt ill, but somehow it wasn’t as bad as before. When she had mentioned it to Tikki, the kwami had explained that it was Marinette getting used to the changes as her body adapted. Tikki did, however, express to Marinette that she should definitely stop to get a bite to eat. The picnic basket she once had was long gone, and Marinette didn’t find it worthwhile to find it.

Marinette had sent a quick text to her parents, telling them she was fine and had evacuated the area due to the danger, that had been the only reason she wasn’t home. Certainly not for any other picnic related reasons. The logic of the text was enough to calm her parents, but not enough for them to lift her grounding. Figures. As Marinette made her way back home, she looked at Luka’s texts first. The sight of the messages filled her with anxiety, she was unsure what she’d read. Plucking up the courage and ignoring the twisting in her gut, she opened them one by one. She half expected him to be angry that she had disappeared without a trace, but they were only filled with concern. Her heart eased up, letting go of the palpitations and beat normally for once. She gave him a call.

“Marinette! Marinette, oh my god, where _were _you?”

She winced at the sound of worry, “Luka, I’m ok I-I just got swept up with the crowd. A-are you ok?” When the word’s left her mouth she suddenly realized just how terrified she was that he could’ve been hurt.

A long sigh came on the other line, “I’ve…been better, honestly,” a chuckle, “Where are you? I should escort you home…”

Marinette looked around at the street signs, trying to pick a point where they could meet up. “Uhm…looks like I’m in front of the library on 12th Avenue. Meet me in front of the steps?”

“Of course, wait there, okay?”

The call ended.

Paris was always scrambled post-akuma attack. So naturally, you would never expect to run into someone you knew. Marinette was really betting on that when she walked towards the stairs of the huge library, but it seemed like she’d used all her luck as Ladybug. “Marinette? Is that you?”

The groan that escaped her lips was reflexive, and she turned toward the voice. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was, “Nino?”

The DJ’s face was stricken with realization as he rushed over to meet her, waving his arm, “Marinette, what are you doing here? Alya said you were…”

He got close enough to see her face clearly and she raised her eyebrow at him, “Sick?”

Nino scratched the back of his neck, laughing awkwardly. They stood face to face now, “Yeah, that’s…that’s what she said.”

They didn’t know what to say. But neither walked away. Marinette caved first, “So…are you ok? That akuma was pretty wicked.”

“Yeah, yeah! I’m fine, I wasn’t really close by the action. How about…how about you?”

Marinette shrugged, “Well, I wasn’t doing great before the akuma happened anyways.”

Nino looked at her, puzzled, “What do you mean?”

For the second time that day, a voice was heard from yards away, “Nino! Oh my gosh, Nino? Did you see-?”

Alya got closer and saw who Nino stood next to. Marinette expected hate to cross her face, a glare to appear in her best friends’ eyes. But instead, she saw hesitation. Alya didn’t stop coming toward them, but she slowed down. Was more cautious. Nino didn’t read the room, “Alya, babe! You’re ok, I came as fast as I could!”

When she was close enough, Nino engulfed his girlfriend in a tight hug. Alya cut to the chase, “So Marinette…what are you doing here?”

Nino noticed the tension.

The pigtail girl looked away, not meeting the reporters face and sniffed. “I just ended up here.”

The atmosphere was so stiff it could be cut with a knife. Nino tried to be the knife, “Hey! Been a while since we’ve all been together! I know that an akuma just attacked but we should hang out!”

Marinette blurted out, “No!” Even Alya look startled with how abrupt her answer was; even Marinette knew how unnecessarily rude it was, “I…no, not today. Luka is coming to take me home. I was hanging out with him first.”

Nino literally could not read the room, “Luka? Is that why things weren’t going great before the akuma attack.”

It was visible how Alya looked away, wincing. She looked embarrassed, and if Marinette didn’t know any better, she could’ve even looked remorseful. But Alya offered no sign of apologizing, so Marinette replied, “No, Luka wasn’t the issue. But…it doesn’t matter now. Post-akuma events make you realize that some stuff…just doesn’t matter as long as everyone is ok.”

Alya sniffed.

Nino laughed, “Yeah, no kidding. Nothing like a life or death situation to make things feel better. Huh…that sounds kinda more messed up than I meant for it to.”

There was a pause as Nino thought over his words. The pigtail girl couldn’t help but chuckled, “I’m glad you’re ok, Nino….Alya.”

“Oh, dude, super stocked we’re all, like, not dead! Shout out to Ladybug and Chat Noir,” he pumped his chest with his fist, kissed it, and gave a peace sign.

Both girls snorted…and giggled, before both bubbling over with laughs. “Girl, that was _crazy _wasn’t it?” Alya laughed.

Marinette’s lips curled back in a grin, “No kidding, but what kinda name is ‘Sand Boy’?”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started! _Worst _villain name, ever!”

“Right? Hawkmoth is _tasteless_, in so many more ways than one,” it felt good to joke with Alya like this again. They hadn’t even realized they had slipped into their normal conversation for a moment.

They only noticed when Nino, looking at them both fondly, spoke up, “I missed this. We gotta hang out more!”

Silence.

Alya and Marinette looked at each other. It became stiff again. Marinette could hear the sound of footsteps coming closer in a light run. Turning around, she spotted Luka racing over. For a split moment, she was taken aback by him. His hair bounced around his face, his strong hands swiping it from his crystal eyes. He had a thing veil of sweat on his face, clearly breathless and slightly red face. Luka looked so relieved, like a weight had been lifted off him. Had he been that concerned…for her? “Luka!” Marinette met him halfway.

He grabbed her by her shoulders, looking over her, “Oh my gosh, legit, do _not _disappear like that again! I was looking for you the whole time, a-are you ok?”

She watched him as he brushed dust from her shoulder, “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Are…you ok?”

She noticed then a bruise on his chin and gasped, “Luka, your face!”

He felt his hand brush over his face, “Oh this? Yeah, when the crowd was going crazy someone accidentally head butted me. They said sorry, of course, but you know.”

Alya and Nino chose then to join in, “But…wouldn’t Ladybug have healed that…? You know, how she fixes everything?”

Luka shrugged, “Well, I guess since this was not akuma related, it couldn’t do anything.” He said this while eyeing Alya suspiciously, moving in front of Marinette slightly, “Hey, you were with my sister! Where is she!”

Alya’s shoulders straightened and she looked embarrassed, “Oh, right! You’re…her brother. She and Rose went back to Juleka’s house, so…”

Luka sighed in relief. Of course, he hadn’t forgotten about his sister. He’d been calling her, freaking out about it just as much. She had only sent back cryptid ‘I’m fine’ and ‘ok’ messages, she was clearly upset with him, and wouldn’t tell him where she was. He was relieved that at least the red head knew.

“Marinette, sorry hanging out today didn’t go as planned. How about on Monday I stop by your bakery for a snack after school…?”

Marinette smiled at him, “Yeah, go check on Juleka. I know you’re worried.”

Luka smiled at her, “I will. But I already said I’d take you home. Can’t go back on a promise.”

Marinette didn’t bother to mention that he hadn’t promised anything, “Okay, fair enough. But…can you give me a second to say bye to my friends?”

Luka looked over at the couple standing there. Friends? But hadn’t that girl just been…? Luka shook his head, it was Marinette’s business and if she wanted to explain it to him, she would. “Alright, I’ll wait over there.”

The group of teens watched as he walked away. “Bro, I feel bad for his face; really looked like it hurts.”

Alya still looked on at him, “I don’t get it, Ladybug’s cure should’ve cured him…It fixed Lila’s tinnitus…”

Marinette had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping. For one, _of course _it didn’t heal Lila’s tinnitus because it had never existed; but for two, Ladybug’s magic literally _only _worked against damaged caused by the magic of a miraculous. “Well, isn’t that something to think about.”

The peace that had visited them briefly vanished, “Hey that was uncalled for! Lila was so happy it had healed up for her!”

Nino looked back and forth awkwardly, “But…now that I think about it, how come other people’s sickness and stuff haven’t been healed by Ladybug? Like…wouldn’t people with colds or something get better after every akuma?”

Alya paused and thought about it. Nino was right, nobody had ever mentioned it before, “B-but, hey, just because nobody ever said anything doesn’t mean it’s impossible! Besides, maybe Ladybug _chose _to heal Lila because they’re best friends!”

A cutting laugh came out of Marinette, who at that point, was so frustrated she wouldn’t even look at them, “Look, I’m _very _sure that if Ladybug could heal one person like that via her magic, she would’ve healed _everyone, _not just her supposed ‘best friend’. But the evidence is there, on his face: Ladybug’s magic does _not _fix things unrelated to an akuma.”

Nino looked down at his shoes, “…Seems like it.”

His girlfriend was frustrated, “So what? What! How did her tinnitus get cured then, huh?”

Marinette didn’t want to deal with it anymore, “I have to go, Luka is waiting for me. Glad you guys are safe.” And she left them behind.

Luka and Marinette made their way back to the young hero’s home. They walked in silence; Luka able to read to mood Marinette was in. He had been surprised when the sickly one broke the silence, “Alya and I are…complicated.”

He bumped her lightly with his elbow, “I wouldn’t call _complicated _yelling at you in the middle of the park.”

“Well…she’s my best friend.”

“Didn’t seem like it.”

Marinette scoffed in frustration, “You wouldn’t understand.”

They walked in silence again, Luka looking over Marinette’s profile. Her brows were low, and she looked at her feet while she walked. Her arms were crossed defensively. “I…really don’t, Marinette. I don’t get it, but you can still tell me.”

She chewed on her lip, mulling over what he was saying. She looked up at the sky, the colors starting to darken and become deep jewel tones as the sun set, the moon beginning to reveal itself in the growing absence of the sun. It was getting chillier as the heat of the day began to fade into the nights cold. She felt a weight on her shoulders and looked down, finding that Luka had placed his jacket around her shoulders, hesitantly, she looked at his face. “You can tell me.”

Pulling the newfound jacket tighter around her shoulders, she sighed. “I…I’m not even sure what to say. I don’t even think there’s a way I can say it that’ll make it make sense. Alya is my best friend. But right now, I’m not her best friend. That doesn’t mean I’m going to turn my back on her. Right now, she believes Lila, even though she’s been lying. And she’s mad at me because I keep trying to tell the truth.”

“As good friends do.”

“Right, but…I think now, since Alya has been repeating what Lila says, endorsing it, it’s like she _has _to believe what Lila is saying. Or else, that mean _she’d _be spreading lies. I-I think she might even be _scared _to find out if she’s lying.”

Luka scratched the back of his head; that was complicated. “Is…is that what you guys were talking about?”

A sigh, “Yeah, well…onetime, Lila lied and said that Ladybugs magic cured her tinnitus. But it literally doesn’t do that.”

“Ok, don’t hate me for saying it but…proof?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and punched his arm, “Well at least you asked for some. The proof is in the pudding, and by pudding, I mean your chin. It hasn’t been healed.”

Luka stroked over his bruised face, “But what about like pre-existing stuff _like _tinnitus?”

“Then what about every other person in Paris who has tinnitus? Wouldn’t it all have been cured by the first time she ever used her powers?”

“Yeah, true. I didn’t doubt you, but I’m still glad you had an actual point.”  
She grinned up at him, “Thanks! I try.”

“Speaking of point, you were saying….?”

“Right, right. So, to Alya, I really feel like she wants to believe Lila because that’s who Alya is. In a way, I admire her for it; her ability to believe that people are naturally good and that nobody will lie for fun. And, honestly, I can be naive too. But at the very least, I can listen to somebody when they say something is suspicious.” Marinette stopped talking for a moment, thinking over what she just said. She wasn’t sure if it was the perfect way to convey how she felt, but it also felt like it was going somewhere. Rubbing her temples, she gave a moment to silence.

Luka had also been considering Marinette’s words. It’s true, in a way, it was good of Alya to believe in people. Yet, the black and white way of believing everyone just naturally told the truth wasn’t how the world worked. “So, are you more upset that she doesn’t believe you or more upset that she believes Lila’s lies?”

Marinette hummed; she hadn’t thought about it that way. But that question struck a chord with her. “I think…it’s more upsetting that she _so _stubbornly wants to _believe _in what Lila is saying that she’s willing to push me away for it. I totally get that she wants to be able to believe everyone without a doubt with her whole ‘justice’ and ‘righteousness’ point of view, but you can’t have that when you’re also pushing away someone who’s bringing out actual _truth_.”

There wasn’t much to say, how do you react to something like that? In a way, it made sense. Even to Marinette, it made sense. If she herself hadn’t been Ladybug, would there have been something to tip her off to Lila’s lies? Would there had been an actual reason for her to doubt Lila? Because, honestly, she was just a normal teenage girl and she was legit a super hero who designed a famous rock star’s glasses and album cover, stared in a pop singers music video, won a fashion competition judged by a famous designer, _and_ related to a famous chef? And that was just her, she knew the daughter of the mayor, knew a boy who invented a robot with _emotions_, and knew a _model_. If someone had told her Lila was lying, would she believe it? She’d like to believe she could. “I just wonder…if the roles were reversed…would _I _have been like the class?”

“I don’t think so.”

Startled, she looked up at Luka. She hadn’t expected that answer, “What?”

Luka kind of just shrugged, looking forward as if there was something far off that he couldn’t see, “Well, I think if someone told you something was off about her, you’d at least _consider _it. I don’t think you’re the type of person who just brushes off what people say.”

“I guess that’s true,” she wasn’t sure.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, “Look, I think at the very least if someone said something, you’d look into it just a bit. You’re so kind, Marinette, but you’re not dumb. Even if you didn’t believe this person, you’d at least look up something to prove them wrong, you know?”

“I…yeah, I would’ve,” the thought made her feel a bit better, but then a little worse. “It just makes me so mad, so _frustrated, _that they won’t even give me the courtesy of a quick search. Seriously, even to _prove _me wrong, maybe I _want _to be proven wrong.”

Luka let out a sigh, part of him understanding much better than he had before. “Well, from the sounds of it, a lot of her lies are just dumb little things, right? Like, even today, her whole ‘grab akuma’ thing was a bluff,” Marinette didn’t say anything, that was a Tikki only topic and it was probably better Luka rationalize that situation as a bluff anyways, “so that means she can’t keep track of it forever! If you really want her to get exposed, you just have to find the right lie to topple. The one where there’s no way she can talk herself out of it.”

“Yeah, but that could be any of them! And normally, before I can prove anything, she’ll start crying and people instantly stop listening!”

“Hey, listen. You’ll know when it comes. And while you wait for it, I’ll still be here for you.”

Marinette looked up at him as he smiled at her. His words weren’t perfect, he didn’t say exactly what she wanted to here, but what he did said brought her comfort and hope. Being able to talk to him made it easy to sort out her own thoughts and feelings. They found themselves in front of the bakery yet again, except Marinette’s parents did not rush out. Shyly, she kicked the pavement, “Why does it always feel like I’m venting to you?”

He laughed, stretching his arms out to the side before plopping them back down to his sides, “It’s alright, I don’t mind. Honest.”

Marinette smiled, meeting his eyes, “Thanks for today. Even if an akuma ruined our picnic, I still feel better. So…yeah, thanks.”

He grinned back at her, “Any time, M-M-Marinette. I gotta go now, gotta make sure my mom and Juleka are okay.” He waved goodbye, turning and walking away. Marinette stood there and waved back, waiting to see his figure retreat beyond her line of sight. The young girl sighed, hugging herself tightly and with a jolt, realized she still had his jacket. She looked around to make sure nobody was there to see her as she turned to walk inside. Before she walked through the door, she pulled the jacket to her nose and breathed in deeply. It was the scent of water, clean soap, and freshly cut grass; it felt…safe. She shook her head, fighting off the heat that threatened to rise to her face. Marinette had other things to worry about.


	9. Chapter 9

“Tikki, Lila has _really _gone and done it,” Marinette slammed the door behind her, making her way to her bed and throwing herself back, her aching body accepting the warm embrace of the blanket.

Tikki flew out, taking a place to sit near her wielder’s face. In all honesty, Tikki…could not believe it. It was often discussed with Marinette, who had once agreed but now probably didn’t, that Lila was just acting her age. Just being an annoying, lying teen who told tall tails to be accepted by her peers. Someone who had just been angry that her mother seemed to pay her no mind, no real clue on how to be with people. But now, “I know. It’s too far, she’s done something truly dangerous.”

Marinette rubbed her eyes in frustration until spots floated in front of them, “What are we supposed to do? Master Fu is _gone_, so…what?” She felt so lost. This was something way beyond her realm of expertise, it wasn’t just lying anymore. Now, it was framing. It was endangerment, bluffing. A dangerous gamble with all of Paris at stake. “I _need _to talk to someone…”

The kwami didn’t know what to say. What advice could she offer? Could anything she say be of any comfort or give direction? This was a complicated, dangerous situation. Marinette needed an equal, she needed a partner… “Chat Noir.”

Marinette paused, and then slowly lifted her face from her hands. “What?”

Tikki sighed, looking away for a moment, the silence growing between them. “You need to talk to Chat.”

“B-b-but Master Fu said-”

“He was _wrong_,” it was a sudden outburst. One that caught them both by surprise. The next batch of air Tikki took into her lungs shook with sadness. “Master Fu was wrong. I have always thought so. Plagg and I are _equals_; each a half of a whole. Of course, separately, we are strong; but together we’ve always been unstoppable...and you, now more than ever, need to feel unstoppable.”

Marinette looked at her, wide eyed. She hadn’t expected an outburst, she hadn’t considered that perhaps Tikki needed Plagg as much as she needed Chat; which, now that she thought about it, was really inconsiderate of Marinette to assume. Marinette did not have room to argue, “Okay.”

Marinette waited for after dinner, and then another hour after her parents had gone to bed. She sat at her computer, typing up some homework while she waited for the snores of her father and mother to start up. When they did, she sighed, rubbing her eyes as the dryness pricked at them. Tikki flew over from where she had been resting on a cotton stuffed mini pillow Marinette had made for her, “Ready?”

A yawn escaped her lips briefly as she nodded her head sleepily, “Yeah…yeah, I’m ready.”

Adrien had been asleep when he felt something pulling his hair. Lazily, he waved his hand around and muttered complaints as he tried desperately to stay in his dream. Currently, it was the same dream he had often, where he was with his mom and they were baking together. They had a cat with black fur and green eyes that would knock over the flour from the counter, and his mom’s eyes would crinkle with laughter as Adrien tried to sweep it up, effectively causing a flour cloud. She was wiping his cheek adoringly, her smile warm as she tried to say something. Adrien squinted, confused as his mothers face became less and less visible, her voice starting to become clearer “Adrien….Adrien…wake up.”

“M-mom? What’s wrong?”

Her face was disappearing and as everything quickly sunk down into blackness and he felt like he was falling briefly back into his body, “Ladybug.”

Adrien shot up quickly from his sleeping position, which consequently caused him to head butt the kwami pulling his hair and send the poor creature flying. “Gyah!” A soft thump was heard and a few moments passed before the kwami had floated back over right in front of the teens face.

“Hey kid, you awake?”

Adrien’s face scrunched as he groaned and flopped back down onto his pillow, “Please, _please _don’t tell me there’s another late night akuma!”

“Hah, no way. If there was, you think I’d wake you up that sweetly?”

The boy cracked one eye open, snorting, “You call _that _nice?” he then recalled the other times Plagg had awakened him for an akuma and rolled his eyes, “Okay yeah, I guess that wasn’t so bad. But if it’s not an akuma, _why _am I awake right now?”

Plagg let out a long yawn, scratching a bit behind his ears in a lazy manor, “Ladybug is trynna reach you. So hurry up and transform so I can go sleep, would you?”

Adrien perked up. He never needed a reason to speak to Ladybug! He quickly obliged.

Chat Noir was nearing the top of the Eiffel Tower, he was quick as lightning, a black streak against the Parisian night sky as he silently made his way to their meeting spot. He came up from her profile and paused at the sight of Ladybug. Her costume was still something to get used to, but what was even stranger was how she hunched over. There was something so unsettling about seeing the strongest person you knew look so…weak. She was stunning of course, the starlight twinkling against the deep black of her hair, the way the lights of the tower bounced from her blue eyes making them shine and her tanned skin erasing the dullness it had during their fight. Her posture wasn’t great, her shoulders rolled over as she held her stomach, her mouth set into a grim line. It was uncomfortable watching her eyes focus on the dark under of the tower, like she wished she could just fall in… “M’Lady! For what reason do I owe such a fabulous visit?”

Ladybug jumped, she’d been drowning in thoughts and hadn’t heard him stand next to her. Noticing the eye boogers and ruffled hair, she couldn’t help but snort out a short laugh, “Hey Chat, did I interrupt your cat nap?”

He laughed at the jab, running a hand through his hair, “Yup! I guess you owe me one!”

She rolled her eyes and bumped his shoulder with hers, but her mood dampened quickly. “Hey…this is actually kinda serious…”

He looked down at her, tilting his head slightly. It wasn’t often that she would discuss something with him… and he didn’t want to pass the opportunity to hear what she had to say. He sat down at the edge, letting his feet dangle before patting the spot next to him, “Well, I’m here to listen.”

Marinette had to bite her cheek to keep her eyes from watering. She wasn’t expecting that kind of relief from those simple words. She sighed heavily, flopping down next to him. Looking out over the city she searched for words, picking at the fabric of her pants. “Chat…if…if we revealed our identities do you think…do you think things would be easier?”

Okay, wow. He was expecting _anything _but that. Luckily, he had a very smart reply, “Uh…what?”

“Look, that akuma today? It wasn’t an accident.”

“Well yeah, I didn’t think Hawkmoth just accidentally sent butterflies to possess people.”

Even in a dire moment he could still make her crack a smile, although she had to suppress it, “Chat! Ugh, ok, listen. Something…something happened before that and I _know _that kid wasn’t the intended target. But…if I tell you how I know that it’ll put my identity at risk.”

“But there’s a chance I won’t figure it out, right…? So…why are you telling me…” Don’t get it twisted, _of course _he wanted to know who she was behind the mask. He’d wanted that from day one, but he knew why it was a secret. Adrien knew the responsibility, and he knew that Master Fu had forbidden it. And Ladybug had always upheld that, and he would always respect the choice.

Ladybug pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin. “Yeah, there’s a chance you still won’t know. But if you did know. And you realized, well…I never wanted our reveal to be an accident.”

Chat bit his lip, “…What about Master Fu…?”

“You know as well as I do that he’s gone…”

There was a long pause as the two heroes looked off into the sky. Even though they were together, a creeping sense of loneliness filled them. “Right…”

Ladybug sighed before turning herself to face him head on. She grabbed his hands and they locked eyes. “Chat Noir. You’re my partner and I…I trust you more than anyone in the world. I…I can’t do this without you. I don’t _want _to do this without you. A-And yea Master Fu said that we shouldn’t know, but who _else _am I supposed to rely on? You’re my _partner_, and yes, I’m scared to tell you. I’m scared to _know_. But…right now nothing is scarier than being alone…from having to hide something like _this _from _you._”

Chat sat speechless. It had a lot to do with what she said. But what really got him was her eyes. Looking into the blue of them, he could see himself. He could see the same fears and anxieties, the same loneliness. His heart cracked a bit, had they always looked like that? He looked down at his hands in hers and saw they were both trembling. He took in a shaky breath and looked back up to meet her eyes, squeezing her hands. “Okay. I trust you.”

A breath that neither knew they were holding escaped their mouths. The silence that followed was broken by a raspy laugh, bubbling up from a breathy chuckle to full on laughter. Whether it was the excitement or fear, neither could tell the difference. The partners looked at each other, “I-Ok, so, how do we…?”

“Oh! Uhm, I guess…we just, uh?” Ladybug took the lead and stood up, her form stiff as her lips curled into an awkward grin.

Chat Noir followed her lead, looking equally goofy. “So we just, uh…s-should we like, close our eyes? Maybe?”

“Uh, yeah! Yeah, that sounds good!” Ladybug awkwardly flapped her arms around her side before reaching up to tug at her pigtail. “Do you…want to count from 3?”

“Sounds good!”

They closed their eyes, facing each other. Ladybug began to count, “One…two…”

“Wait! Wait,” Chat exclaimed.

“What! What is it?”

“On three or after three?”

“Uhm, I don’t know, after three?”

“No drum roll?”

“Chat!”

“Okay, okay!”

They paused, then in sync they counted, “One…two…three”

“Plagg, claws out!”

“Tikki, spots off!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll been a while. Sorry bout that, I got my heart B R O K E cuz my bf L E F T me hahahhhhhaaa we suffer in silence here folks. Anyways, don't mind mistakes since he used to proof read these w me................................anways enjoy and stay safe yall

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still new to fanfiction, so any helpful critiques are welcome.


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